Now That's What I Call Family
by Imagination.To.Paper
Summary: A collection of one-shots based on your suggestions! Let me know what you would like to see written and I will do my best to accommodate!
1. Chapter 1

I know I have other stories that I am working on, but I am stuck on where to go with them.

So I thought I could create another story featuring one-shots of suggestions form you guys and possibly some of the ideas I could use in my stories.

So please send me suggestions you would like to see written and I will do my best to accommodate. However, I will not write Brallie. Sorry.

I will update this story with one-shots and I will continue to update my other stories when the right idea comes to me.


	2. Sneaking Out

**_Thanks to FreakyGreenEyes123 for the suggestion for this!_**

**_This is about Mariana trying to sneak out to see Zac, but Stef catches her. _**

_Yeah I know but you'll be great! -Mariana_

Mariana smiled as her text to Zac sent. She was so excited to finally have a boyfriend.

"Hey. You're on dishes, remember." Callie said as she poked her head into the room. Mariana smiled and nodded her head. She had finally gotten used to having a sister and now that Callie was here, she couldn't imagine her life without her.

"Ok. I'll be right there." She replied turning her attention back to her phone.

"Is that Zac?" Callie asked, walking further into the room and sitting on her own bed. It had been a long time since Callie was able to just sit and chat about normal teenage girl things, like boys.

Mariana blushed and smiled. "Yeah"

"So you two are like a thing now, right?" The older girl asked and the younger one stood up.

"Yeah. I guess." She answered before slipping her phone into her pocket. "I'm gonna do the dishes before someone narks" She said squinting her eyes at her older sister.

"Woah! Don't look at me! I'm the one that came in here to remind you, remember?" She said with a fake hurt look. "I would never rat out my own sister!"

Mariana smiled at Callie's comment. She knew it was difficult for the older teen to refer to her and her family as her own family and hearing her being called her sister made Mariana giddy with happiness.

"Yeah. Us girls gotta stick together around here." She replied as her phone buzzed in her pocket. She smiled once more and took the phone out of her pocket before starting towards the stairs.

* * *

><p>"I said no, Jesus. Not please drop it." Lena said in a stern voice.<p>

"But mom I won't be out late I promise!"

"Hey! Didn't mama say to drop it?" Stef interjected as she flipped through some files from work.

"But..." Jesus began before he got a look from both of his mothers. "This blows" he muttered under his breath before turning to leave the room.

"Hey. You wanna be grounded?" Stef asked. All of the kids knew she hated mumbling.

"No." The boy said, handing his head.

"Didn't think so." She responded.

"Sorry, mama" He said quickly before darting up the stairs.

Lena exhaled deeply and looked over at her wife who was shaking her head. "That kid" She said with a slight chuckle.

"How was your day, love?" Lena asked as she heard another set of footprints on the stairs.

"Oh just great." Stef replied sarcastically, motioning to all of the paperwork she still had left to do. Stef let out a little chuckle and then smiled as she saw her daughter walking into the room, her nose in her phone. "Well look who decided to grace us with her presence." She said with a smirk.

"I was wondering when you were gonna get pestered by your siblings to do the dishes." Lena said with a small smile.

Mariana looked up from her phone and stuck out her tongue at her mothers in a playful manner and set her phone down on the counter next to the sink.

"Oh! She can live without her phone. It's a miracle" Stef said with a dramatic gasp. Mariana rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Oh my gosh mom, chill. Sorry I have a lot of friends." She said with a chuckle as she made her way to the dishes.

"So sorry, Miss Popular" Stef replied.

"Uhhh why are there so many dishes?" Mariana groaned as she looked at the overflowing pile in the sink.

"Well next time you could eat out of your hands if you wanna save a dish." Stef replied with a smirk, earning a look from her wife.

"Mari, no complaining please." Lena said with a small smile.

Mariana sighed and turned the water on before rolling up her sleeves and reaching for the first plate.

Stef turned back to her wife and smiled. "And how was your day?" She asked, trying to continue the conversation from earlier.

"Well I didn't have to give anyone a detention, so I'd say it was a pretty great day." She said wish a smile.

Suddenly, the sound of buzzing filled the room and Mariana looked over at her phone. Ignoring the text, the moms continued their conversation. Mariana, on the other hand, strained her neck towards the phone to see if she could read the text that she was almost certain was from Zac.

Sighing when she couldn't get to her phone, she quickly took her hands out of the water, wiped them off on her pants and grabbed her phone. She flipped her phone open and just as she was about to open the text, the phone slipped out of her hands and fell into the sink. "No!" She yelled as she quickly reached into the sink to pull out the phone.

"What happened?" Lena asked quickly, concern in her voice. She got up and made her way over to her daughter.

"My phone! I accidentally dropped it in the sink!" She said, tears beginning to form.

"Put it in some rice!" Stef said from across the room before getting up and making her way to the pantry. She fumbled around the food until she found the rice and pulled it out.

"Rice?" Mariana looked at Stef like she was crazy.

"Yeah. It will soak up the water from your phone." She answered as her daughter gave her another look. "Just trust me." She said before reaching her hand out. "Let me put it in while you finish the dishes." Mariana groaned before handing her phone off. "You didn't think you were gonna get out of the dishes that easy, did you?" Stef asked with a smirk.

"Yeah. Like I purposely dropped my phone in the sink so I could get out of doing the dishes." Mariana said sarcastically.

"Mooooooom!" Jesus yelled from upstairs, causing all three to stop talking.

"Dishes." Lena said to her daughter, pointing at the sink before turning towards her wife. "You got this? I'm gonna check on your kids." She said planting a quick kiss on her wife's cheek.

"Oh I see. When they're doing something wrong they're my kids." Stef replied.

"Yup." Lena said with a smile before making her way towards the stairs.

"Real nice, hun." Stef called after her as she began to take apart Mariana's phone to put it into the rice. "Ok, Miss Thing. This needs to sit in here for a half hour or so. You think you can handle being without your phone for that long?"

"Gosh mom! You make it sound like all I can do is think about my phone. I'm not that shallow!" She exclaimed with a slight hint of hurt in her voice.

"I'm sorry baby" Stef said as she walked over to her daughter and kissed her on the head. "I'll keep it on the counter and we'll check it in a bit, ok?"

Mariana nodded and wiped her eye where a tear was threatening to fall.

"Mari, baby I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Stef said as she realized she may have teased her daughter too much on the subject.

"It's fine." She said before going back to the dishes.

Stef bit her bottom lip for a second before rolling up her own sleeves and reaching into the sink next to her daughter. "It'll be quicker with both of us." She said with a smile and was relieved when she got a smile back.

* * *

><p>20 minutes later, Mariana and Stef were putting the last of the dishes away and Lena was making her way back downstairs.<p>

"We still have 5 kids?" Stef asked as Lena sat down at the table.

"For now." She said with a slight chuckle.

"Why don't you go shower, Miss Thing. And then homework." Stef said as she playfully swatted at her daughter's behind.

"Uhhh mom." She groaned but walked to the stairs.

Stef smiled and turned to her wife. "So. What did my children do wrong?" She emphasized the word 'my'.

"Jesus has informed me that, and I quote, 'It's totally not fair that I have to share a room. I can't do all of the things I need to do.'" She said raising an eyebrow.

"What does he need to..." Stef started to ask before Lena answered with "I don't even want to know."

Both moms laughed slightly and Stef looked around before looking back at her wife. "Do you see that?" She asked.

"What?" Lena asked, clearly not getting what Stef was hinting at.

"I see an empty room." Stef said with a smile.

Lena finally caught on. "Oh I like that." Lena said with a smile as she reached over and looped her fingers through the belt loops of Stef's jeans and pulled her closer. She planted a firm kiss on her wife's lips, though the pleasure was short lived when she heard two sets of footsteps on the stairs.

"Mom!"

Stef groaned. and Lena sighed. "Your kids are here" she said as she kissed her wife once more and pulled away.

"Ok I don't know what is going on with you, but I don't want to hear it." Stef said as she turned to her two youngest sons. "Jesus, did you do your homework?" She asked, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Well..." He began before she cut him off. "Dining room table. Now." She said as she pointed. "Any you, my little man." She said, slinging her arm around his shoulders. "Did you finish your homework?" She asked, though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

"Yes." He said.

"Ok, sweetie. Why don't you spend some alone time in your room while Jesus does his homework down here. And then with Mariana is out of the shower you can take one. Then you won't have to take one tomorrow." She said gently.

"Ok." The young boy said and started back up the stairs.

Stef smiled and looked at Lena. "My kids, hu?"

Lena just shook her head and walked to the dining room to see if her son needed any help on homework.

Stef began to gather her paperwork from the table when she spotted the bowl that contained rice and her daughter's phone. She shook her head and walked over to the bowl. She quickly fished out each piece of the phone and began to put the battery back in to see if it would turn on. She really hoped that it would because she knew they couldn't afford to buy her a new phone right now. Stef smiled when she saw the screen light up. She put the phone down so she could put the rice into a bag to be used again if another electronic were to get wet.

Before she was able to put the rice away, she heard the phone buzz several times. Stef wasn't one to snoop, but she glanced over at her daughter's phone and saw that the most recent text was from Zac. She smiled to herself. She and Lena had their suspicions that she and Zac were dating, but they didn't want to push anything. However, when another text lit up the screen, Stef crinkled her forehead as she read the message.

_Just sneak out. Tell them you're sick or something. It's fine. Just this once. -Zac_

Stef was surprised. She hadn't pegged Zac as the type to sneak around. Before she could say anything, she heard her daughter's voice.

"Mom! Is my phone working?" She asked with evident concern.

Stef shut the phone and held it out to her. "Good as new." She said with a smile. "But next time, let's not bring the phone near the sink, yes?" She asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah I know." She said before taking the phone out of her mother's hands. "Thanks, mom." She said before kissing her mother on the cheek and running back upstairs.

Stef stood in the kitchen for a moment, thinking to herself. She wondered what her daughter would do with that text.

"Whatcha thinking about, babe?" Lena asked as she pulled Stef out of her thoughts.

"I put Mari's phone back together to make sure it worked, and when I did, a bunch of texts popped up."

"Ok..." Lena said, obviously waiting for the story to continue.

"So as I was checking it, I saw that one was from Zac." She continued.

"Aww I knew they had a thing going on." Lena said with a smile, thinking that was the end of her wife's story.

"Yeah but it's what he texted that confuses me." She continued and Lena stopped to look at Stef. "He told her to sneak out tonight to see him."

This time, Lena raised her eyebrow.

"So we'll see just what our little Miss Thing does with that."

* * *

><p>As soon as she got to her room, Mariana opened her phone and looked at her texts. When she got to the one from Zac telling her to sneak out, she froze. She hadn't ever thought of sneaking out before, she knew her moms checked up on her before they went to bed, and it would be extremely difficult to leave without getting caught with so many people in the house. She looked down at her phone when it buzzed again.<p>

_Please? I'll just meet you outside a little ways down from your house. I want to talk to you in person about __something._ -_Zac_

Mariana felt the sides of her lips tug to form a smile. Just then, Callie walked into her room and Mariana's brain began to turn.

"Hey, Callie." Mariana said in the sweetest voice she could find.

Callie stopped what she was doing and looked at her sister with a confused look. "What do you want?" She asked, not beating around the bush.

"Ok. So Zac said he needs to talk to me but it's too late for me to go see him, but he said he can meet me outside for like a really short time and I feel like if I don't go he will think I don't like him." She rambled.

"Ok..." Callie said, getting an idea of where this was going, but wanting to hear it from her sister.

"So I was just kinda hoping. I dono maybe you could cover for me? I would only be gone for like 10 minutes." She said, her lip puffing out and her eyes pleading.

"I dono, Mari. We would get in huge trouble if moms found out." Callie said with a questioning tone.

"Please. This is what sisters are supposta do. They're supposta cover for each other and help the other out. Especially when it comes to boys." Mariana pleaded again, batting her eyelashes.

"Ok, ok. You don't have to do that with your eyes" Callie said as she shook her head. "But you had better be only 10 minutes." She said and smiled when Mariana squealed and gave her a hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you, Callie! I owe you!"

"Yeah. You owe me big." Callie responded as Mariana grabbed her phone to text Zac.

_Ok. Callie is gonna cover for me. I'll meet you outside in 10 minutes. -Mari_

"What are you gonna tell moms?" Callie asked as she took out a book to read.

"I'll tell them I finished my homework and I'm not feeling that great and want to go to bed early." She said simply as she touched up her makeup.

"You really think they're gonna buy that?" Callie asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Well maybe you could keep them distracted?" Mariana said. Stopping to look Callie in the eyes. "Please. It would mean so much to me. I mean this is the first guy I've ever really liked and I really want him to like me. And I promise it will be only 10 minutes." This time, her request wasn't a fake begging, it was sincere and Callie did want to help her sister.

"Ok fine. But girl you owe me so big." She started to say as Mariana ran over and hugged her.

"I know I know so big. Thank you!" She exclaimed.

"I'll talk with them in their room." Callie said while trying to think of something she could talk to them about that would keep both of them busy for at least 10 minutes.

"Perfect. I'm gonna finish getting ready then get into bed." Mariana said knowing that most likely one of her moms would be coming up to check on them relatively soon.

* * *

><p>As if on cue, 5 minutes later, Stef knocked on the girls' door and walked in. By that time, Mariana had gotten into bed and pulled the covers over her head. Callie turned off the light and was editing pictures on her phone. Once Stef opened the door, Callie got up from her bed and began her part of the plan. She hated lying to the women who took her in when she thought she had no one, but she knew Mariana wouldn't do anything stupid and she felt special to be able to help her sister with something she really wanted.<p>

"Uh mom." Callie whispered, throwing the mom title in there for extra sympathy. "Mariana got a really bad migraine and said she usually just goes to sleep and it goes away. So she said to tell you that she did her homework and is going to bed early. I was gonna come get you but I wanted to finish editing some pictures."

Stef raised an eyebrow. _Sick, hu?_ She thought to herself. She assumed that her younger daughter had roped Callie into helping her,and she decided to play along to see just how far they would take this.

"Aww my poor baby." Stef said as she walked further into the room and towards the girl who had wrapped herself into the comforter of her bed and was facing away from the door. "Mari, baby." Stef said as she sat on the bed next to the girl. "How you feelin?" She asked.

"Mmmm. Migraine. Just wanna sleep." She mustered up the best sick voice she could make and replied without lifting her head.

"Well ok, baby girl. I hope you feel better. I love you and I'll come check on you in a bit, ok?"

Mariana nodded and pulled the covers tighter against her face as her mom bent down to kiss her head.

Stef stood up and walked back to wards Callie who was still by the door. "Did you do your homework, love?" She asked in a whisper. Callie nodded then looked at the door. "Uhh can I talk to you for a second?" She asked shyly.

Stef's face lit up. She nodded and opened the door just wide enough for her and Callie to slip through before gently closing it behind them.

Once they were in the hallway, Stef looked at the teen once more and said, "what did you want to talk about, sweets?"

Callie fidgeted with her hands but continued with the plan she had come up with. "Uhh I was wondering if I could talk to you and Le- erm mama about something."

Stef smiled and nodded again. "Sure, baby. Mama is helping Jesus with some homework, but maybe we can all talk in our room? That way it's private and I can hear your sister in case she needs anything." She said, making sure to watch the teen as she said that last part. Callie's eyes darted from side to side as she mentioned Mariana but she simply nodded.

"Ok, love why don't you go get settled in our room and I'll get mama." Stef said, gently squeezing the girl's shoulder and giving her one more smile.

"Ok." Callie said as she turned to the master bedroom.

* * *

><p>"Yup! Last one!" Jesus exclaimed as he looked happily at Lena.<p>

"Ok. Go on up and get ready for bed. But please be nice to your brother." Lena said.

"I know. I'm sorry." Jesus said quietly, realizing that Jude was probably not used to the whole sibling rivalry thing and was really just trying to feel included.

"Ok, baby. Scoot." Lena said with a smile before the teen grabbed his homework and ran towards the stairs.

"Woah there!" Stef exclaimed as Jesus almost ran into her as she made her way down the stairs.

"Sorry!" He responded quickly and continued up.

Stef smiled to herself and shook her head before continuing down the stairs towards her wife. "What are we gonna do with that kid?" Lena asked.

"I say we send him out to do laps" Stef responded with a straight face.

"There is something like that at school. It's called track." Lena said as she got up and brushed some eraser pieces off of her lap.

"So Callie asked to talk to us about something." Stef explained to Lena.

"Wait, she came to you about this?" Lena questioned, not believing what her wife was saying.

"Yeah. Though I'm not sure if she actually wants to talk about something important or if she wants to distract us from a "sick" Mariana" Stef continued, air-quoating the word sick so Lena could understand that she was sure the girl was faking.

"Ok. Well either way, maybe we can actually get her to talk about how she is feeling." Lena started before stopping and looking at Stef. "But what are we gonna just let Mari sneak out?"

Stef had a sly smile painted on her lips and Lena knew her mind was at work. "Oh great. What are you thinking?" Lena asked, nervous of what the answer could be.

"Let's just say that we can talk with Callie, but I will also be talking with our other daughter tonight." Stef said as she reached her hand out for her wife to take. Lena shook her head, but took the outstretched hand. "Nothing too crazy, right?" She asked timidly.

"No. Promise, babe. Just crazy enough for her to never even think about doing something like this again." She answered as they walked up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Mariana waited until she couldn't hear her mother or sister outside of her door before getting out of bed and opening up her window. She was glad that the house was designed in such a way that part of the roof jutted out as a flat surface right beneath her window. She could easily climb from the roof to the tree and get down. She took a deep breath and began to make her way out the window.<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey bug." Stef said as she and Lena entered their bedroom and saw Callie sitting unusually straight and still on the bed. "You alright?" Stef asked.<p>

Callie nodded her head quickly and tried to push a smile out.

"So mom said you wanted to talk to us about something?" Lena said as she sat next to the girl and put her hand on the teen's back.

Callie looked at both moms and slowly nodded her head but before she could open her mouth to speak, Stef's phone began to vibrate in her pocket.

"Oh hold on." She said quickly as she pulled it out and looked at the call- hiding the fact that she knew it was from her mother- as she had asked her to call her cell in 5 minutes. "It's the station. I'm gonna see if it is an emergency and I will be right back." Stef said giving Lena a look before turning to exit the room.

"Wait!" Callie said suddenly as Stef answered the call and turned around before putting the phone up to her ear saying, "Can you hold a moment, Captain?"

"I'll be right back, love." Stef said before looking at Lena to talk with the girl while she dealt with her soon-to-be grounded daughter.

"You alright, love?" Lena asked as Stef walked out of the room. Callie swallowed deeply but nodded her head. "Uhh yeah. Fine." She said, hoping that Stef wouldn't feel the need to check on Mariana before coming back.

* * *

><p>Mariana put her ringing phone up to her ear. She had dialed Zac's number as soon as she made it to the grass. She wanted to make sure she headed the correct way to meet him, knowing she had a limited amount time with him.<p>

"Hey!" She said excitedly. "Yeah. Callie's covering for me." She said as she made her way past the side of the house. "Ok. Yeah I know where that is. I'll be there in a minute." She said but stopped in her tracks when she saw a figure sitting on the front porch steps. "Oh shit!" She exclaimed. "Uhh hold on" She whispered into the phone and tried to quietly back away.

"Why don't you tell Zac goodbye? And that you probably won't be able to see him for a week." Stef said calmly and Mariana closed her eyes in defeat.

She sighed and spoke once more into the phone. "Hey Zac I gotta go. I'll see ya at school." She said before quickly bidding him bye and closing the phone. She slowly made her way to the steps that Stef were sitting on, head hanging down with guilt.

"Have a seat." Stef said, gesturing to an open spot next to her. Once the teen sat down and put her phone down, Stef continued. "Care to tell me why you thought sneaking out to see a boy this late on a school night was a good idea?"

Mariana silently shook her head no and kept her gaze downwards.

"Please look at me."

When Mariana's glossy eyes met Stef's the woman continued. "Do you know why it was a bad idea?"

This time Mariana nodded and a tear fell from her eyes. "I'm sorry, mom. I was only gonna be gone for like 10 minutes. He just wanted to tell me something." She tried to explain.

"It doesn't matter the reason. You broke the rules and you knew full-well that you were doing so." She said before cocking her head slightly to look at her daughter in the eyes. "Is there something more to this?" She asked quietly.

More tears began to fall as Mariana tried to look away, but Stef grabbed ahold of her hands and pulled the girl closer to her. "Mari, baby. I'm sorry but you know we have these rules to keep you safe." She said gently.

"I know" Mariana said, trying to hide the cry in her voice, but failing. "I didn't mean to lie." She said before dropping her head again.

"Come here" Stef said as she pulled her daughter closer to her body. She rested her head on the top of Mariana's head and took a deep breath. "Oh baby girl. I know you didn't. But you knew better. I know youo knew better and there are going to be consequences for your actions." She began. "You know, you never even asked us if you could see him." She said, pointing out the fact.

Mariana listed her head from Stef's shoulder and looked questiongly at her mother. "Wait. You would have let me go see him?" She asked, not believing what she was hearing.

"Well." Stef began. "I would have had to talk with mama, but he might have been able to stop over for a few minutes if it was something really important that he needed to discuss with you tonight. But that's the thing, baby. You didn't ask, you just did what you wanted." She finished before leaning over and kissing her daughter's forehead. "I love you so much, baby girl." She said before smoothing the teen's hair down and kissing her head again.

"I love you too, mom." Mariana said as she relaxed into her mother's loving arms. "I'm sorry." She whispered again.

"I know, baby. I know."

**Send some more requests! **


	3. Migraine

**Thanks to sunshinetuna1 for this suggestion.**

**Mariana has a migraine.**

8-year-old Mariana's head was pounding. She threw her hands up over her ears and closed her eyes, hoping that the pain would go away. She and Jesus had only been living with the Fosters for a little over three weeks and Mariana still hadn't talked to anyone except whispers to her brother.

"Your head again, hermana?" Jesus asked as he looked down at his twin who was crouched as far back in the closet as possible. She nodded her head slightly and Jesus sighed. He didn't think these new foster parents would do anything to hurt them, but they could never be too careful. When talking with some other kids from the foster system, one of the older kids told them that sometimes the parents won't want you anymore if you got sick too often, so anytime either one of them got sick, they would try their best to cover it up.

"Come on, loves!" Stef called into the room that the twins were staying in. They hadn't gotten the chance to show them their own rooms because Mariana wouldn't stay in a room without her brother.

Mariana squealed slightly, not wanting Stef to see her hiding in the closet, but her head was hurting too much for her to say or do anything.

"Ready for school you two?" Stef said as she poked her head into the room.

Jesus stood up quickly and walked towards Stef. He knew he needed to act fast in order to cover for his sister. "Umm I think I need help." He scrambled to make up a lie, but his mind was only half-focused on the woman. He was thinking more about his sister.

Stef crinkled her brow in confusion. "What do you need help with, buddy?" She asked, happy that he was asking for something; in her past experience, foster children usually weren't comfortable asking for many things right away.

"Ummm it's downstairs." He said before he started towards the door, but Stef reached her hand out to stop him before he got there.

"Is everything ok?" She asked, watching him continuously glance at the closet on the other side of the room.

"Yeah. Can you come with me?" He asked again, trying to get her away from the room, but little did he know, she had a pretty good idea that he was not the only child in the room.

"Where's your sister?" Stef asked bending down to the boy's level.

Jesus nervously looked around and then shrugged his shoulders. "I dono. Maybe downstairs." He tried.

Stef raised an eyebrow and chose her words carefully, "You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?" She started. "Because that's not a very good idea. I know you're smart enough to know better."

Slowly, the boy's face dropped and he hung his head. When he didn't respond, Stef continued. "Do you know where your sister is?" She asked and this time Jesus nodded his head slightly.

"Can you look at me, sweetie?" Stef said gently, still squatting at his level as to not to seem threatening. When he finally lifted his gaze Stef smiled and began to talk again. "You don't have to be afraid here in this house. You may get in trouble for disobeying, but you will never by physically punished and you will never be unsafe. Do you think you can trust me that I am telling the truth?"

Jesus looked into her eyes and slowly nodded his head. He had a gut feeling that Stef and Lena were different than most foster parents, but he was still hesitant.

"Good." Stef said with a bigger smile. "Now can you tell me where your sister is?" She asked again and this time, his gaze landed on the closet door. "She's in the closet?" Stef asked with a questioning tone. After he nodded to confirm she cocked her head slightly. "What's she doing in there?" She asked gently.

"Her head hurts." He said quietly.

Stef nodded as she understood why her twins were being so secretive. She had read online that sometimes foster children will hide when they are sick because they don't want to seem like they are a hassle to take care of. Stef smiled sadly and looked at the boy once more. "Thank you for telling me, baby. Do you think you could go downstairs and ask Lena to get you some breakfast while I talk to your sister?" She asked gently with a smile. "I might have some medicine she could take that can help with her headache." She explained.

"Ok" Jesus responded before turning to walk out the door. Before he reached the knob, he suddenly turned around and threw his arms around Stef's waist and gave her a hug.

Stef was taken by surprise but smiled deeply when she felt the boy wrap his arms around her. "Love you, sweetie." She said as she hugged him back.

Once Jesus was out of the room, Stef took a deep breath and made her way over to the closet. She got down on her hands and knees and pushed the door open slightly before peaking her head in slightly. "Mari, love?" She called out, though she didn't expect any sort of answer. She spotted the girl in the far corner and her heart sunk. "I'm gonna come in and sit across from you, ok?" She asked before slowly inching her way into the closet as well.

Once Stef was fully in the closet, she turned her body to face the girl who still had her hands over her ears and her eyes buried in her knees.

"Jesus told me your head was hurting." She stated, trying to get the girl to at least look up from her huddled position. When she didn't see any movement, she decided to continue to talk. "Can you show me where it hurts?"

This time, Stef saw a small hand move and with the little light from the partly opened closet door point to her head, ears and eyes. "Your head, ears and eyes?" Stef stated to make sure she got the correct information and the girl nodded ever so slightly to confirm.

"Oh baby I'm so sorry. Do you get headaches a lot, sweetie?" She asked, knowing they only had limited access to their health background. When she nodded her head slightly again, her heart broke for the girl.

"Ok well how about we get you some medicine to make you feel better?" Stef asked. "And I can stay home with you today and you can sleep." At the silent response, Stef started to move back out of the closet. Once she was halfway out, she extended her hand out to the young girl and gently said "Come on, baby."

Slowly, Mariana picked her head up and reached her own hand out towards Stef.

"That's it. Good job, sweetie. Take your time." She praised as the little girl slowly made her way out of the closet.

"Oh baby." Stef gasped when she was able to see her foster daughter's state. She was a sickly pale color and had beads of sweat on her hairline. "Come here, love." She said, holding her arms out for the girl and praying that she would allow Stef to pick her up.

Before Mariana was able to lift her arms up towards Stef, she threw her hand over her mouth and tried to get up to run to the garbage can, but couldn't find her footing, as she had been crouched in the closet for a half hour. She stumbled and as Stef reached her hands out to catch her, Mariana threw up onto the carpet.

Tears began to flow from the girl's eyes. Partly because she felt so sick, but partly because she just threw up on the carpet and thought she was going to get in trouble.

"Ok. Ok sweetie. You're ok." Stef said as she quickly grabbed the garbage can and brought it to the girl before reaching down and gently picking Mariana up. She carried both the garbage and the girl over to the bed and placed the can on the ground and Mariana on the bed. "Shhh, my sweet girl." Stef cooed as she pushed some sweats strands of hair off of the girl's face and some tears from her cheeks.

Mariana tried putting her hands over her ears, as the light and sound were making her head pound, but she felt another wave of nausea and had to remove her hands in order to lean over the side of the bed and empty the rest of her stomach.

"It's ok. Get all the yuckies out." Stef said as she held Mariana's hair back and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

Once she was done throwing up, Stef gently pushed her head back towards the pillow and put her hand on the girl's forehead to see if she had a fever.

Before Stef could determine whether or not she was warm, Mariana grabbed the blanket and threw it over her head before curling herself into a tiny ball.

Stef smiled sadly but made her way around to the other side of the bed, lifted the covers, and joined the girl. "Feel a little better?" She asked, hoping that after throwing up, she would feel even the slightest bit better.

Mariana didn't respond, and she kept her hands over her ears and her face buried.

A soft knock on the door caused Stef to peak her head out from under the covers and she saw Lena standing in the doorway with a confused look. "What's going on?" She whispered to Stef as the blonde slipped out of the covers and made her way to her wife.

"She was hiding in the closet, with a headache, and when I got her to come out, she began to throw up." She said, glancing at the vomit that was still on the rug by the closet door. "She also told me her eyes and ears were hurting." Stef said as they both thought about what could be the reason.

"Migraine" Lena said suddenly. "My friend used to get them all the time." She explained. "Lights and sounds made her head hurt like crazy and sometimes if it got too much, she would throw up."

Stef nodded her head and looked at the bad, where she could see a small ball shaped figure.

"Ok well I'm gonna stay with her, I'm off anyway so it's no problem. Are the boys ready?" Stef asked, realizing it was almost time for them to leave for school.

Lena looked at her watch and sighed. "I sent them to brush their teeth when I came in here." She explained. "They should be done."

"Ok. You go get to school and I'll stay with our little one. Hopefully get some toast into her and some pedialite." Stef whispered.

"Call me if you need anything." Lena said as she kissed her wife. "And make sure she drinks water. If nothing else, water. Even if she throws it up." Lena said, knowing dehydration was very possible.

"Ok, love."

Lena walked over to the bed and crouched down next to where she thought Mariana's head was. She whispered, "I love you, sweetie. Feel better. Mom is gonna stay with you but I'll come check on you as soon as I get home from work."

Lena stood up and kissed Stef once more before slipping out of the room, closing the door behind her to keep out as much light as possible.

Once Stef heard Lena explaining that Mariana was sick and that Stef was going to stay home with her to the boys and then their voices fading down the stairs, Stef walked back over to Mariana. She knelt down, much like Lena had done earlier and began to whisper to the girl. "My sweet baby girl. We're gonna get you all taken care of, ok?" She said as she pulled the covers off of the girl. She didn't want to hurt her anymore than she was already hurting, but she wanted to get her into the shower and out of the clothes she was in.

"Come here, baby" Stef said, pulling the girl gently out from under the covers. Letting only a small whimper from her lips, Mariana wrapped her small arms around Stef's neck and the mother lifted her off of the bed, placing her own arms protectively around the girl's back. "We're gonna make you feel all better, my sweetie." She said as she stroked the girl's brown hair. Stef smiled when she felt Mariana relax in her arms and rest her head in the crook of Stef's neck.

Stef kissed the girl's forehead, but left her lips lingering there for a few seconds before pulling away and rubbing more circles on her back. "You're ok. You're safe."

**Thanks for the reviews and suggestions!**


	4. Mom? Part 1

**FreakyGreenEyes suggestion- plus some others encouraged this. **

**Callie and Mariana go to a party and Liam is there. **

"I don't know, Mariana." Lena said tentatively as she continued to make dinner while her youngest daughter followed, pleading.

"Please. I won't be out past curfew and it's not a school night." She begged. Mariana wanted to go to the party mainly to see if Chase was there, the guy she was crushing on. "Don't you trust me?" She added.

"Yeah but it's the boys who I don't trust." She responded as she looked at her daughter. "Sweetheart." She began, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry I just don't feel comfortable letting you go alone." She said simply.

Mariana groaned at first but her eyes lit up when she saw Callie walk into the room. She looked from her sister to her mother and raised an eyebrow. "What if Callie comes with?"

"Wait what?" Callie said as she went to the cabinet to grab a cup.

"Oh come on, Cal. It'll be fun. Andrea's house. Remember?" Mariana pleaded as she tried to give her a desperate look.

"Uh yeah. Sounds like fun." Callie said in a forced enthused voice.

"See mama. Callie will be there. And she won't let anything happen."

"Well." Lena said, putting down the owen mitts she had on, "If Callie really wants to go, you may both go."

"Yes!" Mariana cheered quickly.

"But you are both home by 11. Understand?" She asked giving both girls a stern look.

"Yes we understand, mama." The younger girl answered and grabbed the older teen's hand. "Come on! We have to get ready!" She squealed as she led the two of them upstairs.

* * *

><p>"Thanks again, Callie. You're such a great sister." Mariana said as her eyes sparkled. She was so excited to hopefully have the chance to talk to Chase alone.<p>

"Yeah. It's no problem." The girl responded with a smile as they walked into the house.

Beer cans and cups littered the house as teens filled each room. Callie looked around apprehensively, but Mariana took it all in with a smile on her face.

"Uhhh. Maybe we should go?" Callie said slowly.

"Oh hell no!" Mariana responded and grabbed her sister's arm to pull her in the rest of the way.

Mariana pulled them both into the first open room and Callie recognized some of the people from Anchor Beach. "Ok but don't..." Callie began before looking over at Mariana who already had a beer in her hands. "Drink" She finished, letting out a breath.

Mariana skipped back to Callie and happily informed her of her plans. "I'm gonna go find Chase. Keep your phone on in case I need to text you to get me out." She explained, as if it was common knowledge to do such a thing.

"Get out of what? Wait I don't think this is such a good idea..." Callie began before Mariana rolled her eyes. "You need to lighten up." She said before reaching over, grabbing a beer and handing it out to the older teen. "Just relax and have fun." She said seriously and then walked off to go find the boy.

Callie sighed deeply but put the can down. She knew she needed to be responsible for the both of them, so she took out her phone and began to scroll through them, hoping to find some pictures to edit.

* * *

><p>Only a half hour had passed since the girls arrived at the party and Callie was getting bored. She checked her watch and noted that it was only 9:30. She sighed deeply and got up from the couch she had occupied since she got there to try and find someone she knew. As she made her way through the kitchen, a guy came out of nowhere and bumped into her causing his drink to spill all over the side of Callie's arm.<p>

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" The boy said, seemingly genuine in his apology, Callie smiled slightly and told him it was fine. She shook off what she could before looking around for a bathroom.

She reached what she assumed was the bathroom on the first floor, but when she saw there was a line, she decided to try and find another one. _Maybe I can find Mariana while I'm at it._ She thought to herself as she made her way to the stairs. She had noted earlier that not as many people seemed to be going to the second floor and decided to try there next. As she walked up the slightly winding staircase, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around in the hopes that it was Mariana, Callie's face suddenly fell as she met the eyes of someone who she never thought she would have to see again. Liam.

"Get off of me." She said quietly, but with much force to her voice. She tried to shrug his hand off of her shoulder and keep walking, but he was much stronger and kept a firm grip. "What? You don't like this?" He asked with a coy smile. He allowed her to keep walking up the stairs but kept his hand on her shoulder the entire time. Once they got to the top of the landing, Callie spun around and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She snarled, trying to sound as tough and unafraid as possible.

"What? I can't go to parties too?" He asked, making it sound like it was just a game and nothing was wrong with him being there and talking to her.

"Ok whatever just leave me alone." Callie said, trying to pull away, but this time he gripped her wrist and help on tightly. He leaned forward and whispered "I thought this is what you liked."

Callie gasped as she felt his hand on her back, stroking her shirt up and down. She tried to pull away from him but he pulled her closer and continued talking. "You liked it last time. I'll bet you wanted more. I can give you more, baby." He said, the smell of alcohol evident as he was inches away from her face.

"Let me go." Callie instructed, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

Liam simply smiled and reached his hand up the back of the teen's shirt. "You really want this, Cal. I know you do." He said as tears began to form in the girl's eyes.

Suddenly, a long bang of a door opening caused both Callie and Liam to stop and look up. Mariana was walking out of one of the rooms, a beer in one hand, Chase's hand clasped in the other. She was giggling hysterically until she saw her sister's face. She immediately let go of Chase's hand and walked over to Callie.

"Cal?" She asked, trying to sound as coherent as possible. She steadied herself against the banister as she looked at the older teen. "Callie?" She asked again, this time slightly louder. The girl seemed to be in a trance, she couldn't speak or make any sort of noise; she was frozen in fear. "Cal you're scaring me." Mariana said, now she was beginning to worry.

"She's fine." Liam said suddenly, wrapping his arm around Callie as if they were great friends. However, as soon as he touched her, she screamed and jumped back.

"No! No! Don't touch me!" She yelped and Mariana jumped at her sudden voice.

"Cal what's wrong?" Mariana didn't know who the guy was, but she figured he was not her friend by the way she reacted.

"And who is this?" Liam asked with a sickening tone, looking at Mariana.

"I'm gonna be sick." Callie suddenly said as she threw her hand over her mouth and ran into the bathroom, which was thankfully located next to the staircase. She made sure to grab ahold of her sister's arm as she raced into the room. Forcefully shoving the younger girl into the bathroom, she slammed the door shut and locked it before nearly missing the toilet to empty the contents of her stomach.

"Callie?" Mariana said timidly as the older girl flushed the toilet, stood up, and went to rinse her mouth out. She had forgotten all about Chase and the party and her only concern was on her sister who seemed to be freaking out. "What happened? Who was that?" She asked quietly.

Both girls jumped when they heard a pounding at the door. "Callie! I know you're in there! Come on, baby. I was just kidding."

Mariana looked at Callie and noticed her face had paled and her eyes were wide open in terror. The younger teen didn't know how to react as she had never seen Callie act so afraid before.

Another round of pounding on the door shook both girls from their thoughts and Callie backed herself as far away from the door as possible and put her hands over her head, as if she were protecting herself.

"Callie! Come on! It's fine. I promise we can just talk. Or maybe I can talk to that hot chick whose in there with you." Liam said at first, but when he received no answer he pounded on the door once more and snarled, "I'll find you. You can't hide." And with that, tears began to fall from the girl's eyes.

Taking in only what she could see, and being slightly tipsy, Mariana's emotions began to flood as she too felt tears sting her eyes. "Who is that?" She asked as she walked over to the girl who had slid down the wall and was hugging herself.

Callie didn't reply. She was too busy reminding herself to breathe and trying to come up with a way to get her and Mariana out of the house. She couldn't believe that he was there. _This can't be happening._ She thought to herself as her breathing picked up. _I can't. No. He can't. _She tried to concentrate, but her head was spinning.

Apparently, Mariana could see the erotic behavior because she spoke once again. "Callie. You're scaring me. What's wrong? What can I do?" The young girl was completely shocked to see the always tough teen falling apart in front of her eyes. She decided she had to do something, because it seemed like Callie was having a panic attack- something that Mariana had experienced when she first was in the foster system. "Ok. I'm gonna go out and find Chase. He can help..." She started before a panicked Callie reached out and grabbed her hand to keep her from leaving.

"No! You can't leave!" She said, feeling embarrassed to be reacting like this to the girl, but feeling more worried about what could happen if Liam found Mariana.

"I don't know what to do, Cal" She said, shaking her head. "Who is that guy?" She asked one more time.

Callie took a deep breath. She knew she needed to calm herself down. She wasn't doing her or Mariana any favors by freaking out. However, every time she tried to take in a breath, it would get caught halfway in her throat. The images of Liam flooded back into her head and she found herself struggling to breathe once again. This time, she reached her hand out to get the attention of her sister. She muttered a word that she thought she never would, but ultimately knew it needed to be said.

"Mom"

Mariana crinkled her forehead as if to clarify what she thought she heard. _Callie just called Stef mom. _"What?" She wanted to make sure she was hearing everything correctly.

Callie took a deep breath and at the sound of Liam tapping the door and calling her name, she sobbed, "I need mom."

Mariana smiled, simply because she had heard right, and nodded her head. "Ok. We can go home." She said as she stood up, reaching down to help the older teen up. "I'll text Chase and he can drive us." She said, but Callie wasn't moving.

"Caaaaaallieeeeeee" Liam sang and the tears fell harder as she tried to explain.

"No. Mari I... we can't... we can't go out. I..." She gasped. "I... I need m..." She gasped again. "Need mom!" She forced out as she began to rock back and forth.

Mariana dropped her still outstretched hand and looked down at the girl who had always been so incredibly strong, even when everything seemed to go against her. She realized that this guy or whatever happened must be a huge deal for her to break down like this. Mariana didn't want to call her mom, simply because she didn't want her to know she had been drinking, but the look on Callie's face and the fear in her voice overpowered her thoughts as she fished out her phone from her pocket and dialed Stef's number.

"Ok. I'm calling her." Mariana said as she kneeled down next to the teen and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

* * *

><p>Lena and Stef had settled into bed early that night to watch a movie. Their oldest children were all out for at least another hour, and Jude was in his room. They both knew that Stef wouldn't be able to fall asleep until each one of her children arrived home safely, but Lena thought a little alone time would be nice. So, they put in a movie and both got into pajamas as they sat in bed. Most of the time they spent talking about their days and about the kids. They were enjoying each other's company, and loving being able to kiss one another in privacy.<p>

When Stef's phone began to buzz on the table next to her side of the bed, Lena stopped kissing Stef.

"Wha? Wait Why?" Stef pouted and Lena gave her a questioning look.

"Your phone." She answered as she looked towards the buzzing cell on the table.

"Mmm leave it." She said as she tried to kiss her wife again."

"What if it's one of the kids?" Lena asked in a concerned voice, trying to push Stef over to pick up the phone.

"Well I guess I get get it now that the mood is ruined." Stef gave Lena a playful smile and reached over in time to answer her phone.

"Hello?"

Lena laid her head down on Stef's chest and listened to her wife talk.

"Mari?" Stef asked and Lena smiled because she had been right. But before she could gloat, Stef sat straight up and began to pace around the room. "What? What happened?" She asked in a nervous voice. This, in turn, caused Lena to become worried and she looked at her wife, silently begging her to explain what was going on.

Stef put the phone on speaker so they could both hear.

"Say that again, baby." Stef said quickly.

_"We were at the party and some guy was like I don't really know like talking to Callie and all of a sudden she freaked out and threw up and we're in the bathroom and I don't know what's happening." _The girl spoke quickly and quietly, as to not let Callie overhear her conversation.

"Who was she talking to? What is Callie doing now?" Lena asked as Stef went to get her shoes and jacket on.

This time, Mariana's voice sounded even quieter than before. _"Mama. I'm scared. I think she's having a panic attack. She's in a corner and crying. I've never seen her like this."_ She informed the moms as her own tears began to fall as well.

Lena could hear the girl's voice shaking and she took a deep breath. "Ok, sweetie. Mom is on her way. I'm gonna stay here with Jude." She explained. She and Stef didn't even need to talk it through, they knew someone needed to go and someone needed to stay. They also both knew that Stef would be able to handle the party better and Lena would be able to handle Jude better, if he were to find out what was going on.

_"Ok"_ The small voice responded.

"Here. I'm gonna give the phone to mom and she's coming right now." Lena said as she handed the phone to her wife and gave her a quick kiss before she ran out of the room.

On the way down the stairs, Stef had turned the phone off of speaker and was trying to talk to a frantic Mariana. "Ok, sweets. I need the address."

Once she punched the address into the GPS and saw that it was only a 10 minute drive, she threw the car in reverse and continued to talk to her daughter. "Ok. You're doing a great job, sweetie." She said lovingly, as she could hear the fear in the girl's voice. "Is Callie there?" She asked, hoping to be able to hear the older girl's voice and calm her down too.

Stef heard the sounds of muffled talking and then silence. She waited for a moment before asking, "Callie?"

Stef heard several short breaths, but waited for the girl to respond. Finally, she heard a tired voice. _"Stef?"_

Stef's heart began to beat faster as she could hear the panic in her other daughter's voice too.

"Hi baby!" She tried to sound cheerful as she spoke to the girl and sped down the road. "Can you tell me what happened?" She asked, hoping that she would get Callie to talk even a little.

_"I... I... he..."_ She tried, but Stef heard muffled voices again and then Mariana's voice once more. _"Mom."_ Her voice sounded so small.

"Yes my love."

_"Please hurry."_

That was all Stef needed to hear to step on the gas. "I'm coming, loves." She continued to talk to both of her girls. A squeal from both girls caused Stef's heart to race. "What happened?" She asked quickly.

_"He... He keeps banging on the door and yelling"_ Mariana explained quietly.

Stef closed her eyes and continued looking down at how far away she was. "Ok I am only 3 minutes away." She said eagerly. When she got no response, she continued talking. "Mari. Talk to me. What's happening?"

_"She's just sitting there."_ Mariana explained softly, and Stef knew she was talking about Callie.

"Can you hand her the phone, please?"

After a few moments of muffled noise, Stef could hear a new breathing pattern through the phone and knew it was Callie's. "Hey, my love. Keep holding on, ok?" Stef had no idea what had gotten the girl all worked up, but knowing Callie and knowing how she carried herself, it must have been something pretty bad for her to get this upset about. "Can you talk to me?" Stef tried again. _"Stef"_ Was the only word she could muster out and Stef's heart sank.

"Ok. I'm pulling in." Stef announced as she threw the car in park and grabbed her keys and phone. She looked around and noticed the cans of beer and shook her head. _Mariana has a lot of explaining to do. _She thought as she walked towards the front door. She put the phone back up to her ear and continued to talk. "Mariana?" She asked, knowing it would be easier to talk to her younger daughter.

_"Wait. Mom. Can you wait outside? Please? Let me try and get Callie to walk out with me. Please?"_ Her voice was urgent and Stef could see why. She knew it would be humiliating for her daughter if her cop mother were to barge into the house to escort the two of them out, however, she didn't know if Callie would walk out on her own will. _"Please? I'm talking to Callie and we're gonna be out in 2 minutes."_ She said confidently and Stef weighed the options. Finally, she exhaled deeply and spoke, "Ok. But keep the phone on and if I hear anything I don't like, I'm coming in."

Stef could hear Mariana sigh in relief and kept a mental note to have a talk with her youngest daughter about this later. However, right now she was more focused on the girls getting out.

* * *

><p>"Ok Cal. Mom is here. We just have to meet her outside." Mariana informed the girl, who was still staring off in a trance. "Callie?" Mariana walked over to her and squatted down. "Please?" She asked, her voice shaking. As if Mariana's scared manner snapped the older girl out of whatever trance she was in, Callie looked up. "Callie, please. I'm scared." Mariana confessed, but was glad when her sister's eyes met her own.<p>

"Come on." She said as she stood up and took a firm grasp on the younger girl's wrist. "We're gonna walk out of here quickly and go right to the door." Callie instructed, making sure that she had a good grip on her sister's hand. "Ok?" She asked forcefully.

"Ok." Mariana responded quietly, hoping that when the door was opened, everything would be clear and they could leave. She hadn't heard Liam in a while, and hoped that he had given up and walked away, but she was beginning to regret telling her mother to wait outside.

"Ok. Let's go." Callie said as she grabbed the doorknob and twisted it open. She checked outside of the door while keeping Mariana behind the door- protecting her as best as possible, just as she had done with Jude for so many years. Callie breathed a huge sigh of relief when she saw that Liam was not outside of the bathroom and whispered. "Let's go" once more to Mariana.

Both girls walked quickly, hand-in-hand down the stairs and to the doors, Callie threw open the door and yanked Mariana out, who by now had sobered up significantly, but still had traces of alcohol in her system. As the girls made it into the fresh air, Mariana began to tear up as she saw her mom waiting by the edge of the driveway, but Callie stopped walking all together.

_What have I done?_ She thought to herself. _How could I be so __vulnerable? _She asked as she finally had a moment to replay the past hour in her head.

"My babies." Stef finally could release the breath she had been holding as she waited. She walked towards Mariana and saw that huge tears were beginning to fall down her cheeks and her heart broke. "Mari, love." She said as she opened her arms and engulfed her youngest daughter in a hug. She kissed the girl's temple several times before pulling the girl back and cupping her face in her hands. "Thank you for calling me." She said sincerely, knowing it was probable not the reaction Mariana had thought Stef would show.

As Stef pulled Mariana back towards her for another hug, she looked around for Callie. When she spotted the other girl standing on the grass, looking down, Stef patted her daughter on the arm and handed her the keys. "Will you please go start the car while I get Callie?" She asked, trying not to let the worry come out in her voice. Mariana nodded as she wiped her eyes. She knew Callie needed to be with her mom alone.

Stef watched as her younger daughter walked to the car before turning towards her older daughter. She sighed sadly as she approached the girl. Before she even reached her, she could tell that the teenager was fighting off sobs as she processed the night.

"Callie?" Stef said quietly, trying not to startle the girl.

Callie looked over at Stef and her eyes glistened with fresh tears. "Oh my love." Stef said as she reached an arm out and around the girl's shoulders. "Let's get you home." Stef knew she needed to talk with her daughter, but she didn't want to do it on the front lawn of some random family's home.

It took all but that slight touch for Callie to fall to the ground and curl herself up into a ball in a protesting form.

"Callie?" Stef called as she dropped to the ground next to the girl who had throw up her walls and was not planning on talking.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know he was gonna be there. I didn't know she was gonna be there with him. I'm sorry." She repeated and Stef wasn't sure who she was talking to.

"Callie." Stef said in a more firm tone. "Come on. I'm gonna help you up and we're gonna get into the car, drive home, take a nice shower and talk." She explained as she reached over to the shaking girl, praying that her touch wouldn't frighten her any more than she already was.

Thankfully, Callie didn't retreat from Stef's touch and allowed the woman to help her stand up and walk back to the car. Once Stef had Callie settled in the back seat next to Mariana, she buckled her in and left a lingering kiss on her forehead. "I love you baby. I love you so much. You're gonna be ok."


	5. Mom? Part 2

**Hellooooooo!**

**So once again, sorry about the delay. I got sick, had finals, and got sick again. But now I am on break and will be able to update my stories! Thank you so much for being patient! **

**This is part 2 to Mom? where Callie tells Stef about Liam. Short mention of rape, but not detailed. **

* * *

><p>The ride home was silent, minus the soft sobs coming from the backseat. Stef glanced back at her daughters every few minutes to reassure herself that they were alright- that they were still there. Stef had texted Lena that they were on their way home after she had gotten Callie into the car and she knew her wife would be waiting up for them at the house. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Stef pulled into the driveway, put the car in park, and took the keys out of the ignition. The car remained silent and not one of the girls moved. Finally, Stef took a breath and turned to face her daughters.<p>

"Ok, my loves." She said, trying to mask the concern that was taking over her mind. "Let's get both of you inside, yes?" She asked before she unbuckled herself and got out of the driver's seat.

Mariana followed in suit, unbuckling and opening her door, but stopped when she saw that Callie hadn't moved. She looked at her sister and forced a smile. "Come on, Cal." The younger girl didn't know how to go about the situation at hand. Callie had always been the one to offer advice and say the right thing with Mariana was struggling. Now, as the roles were reversed, she didn't know what to say to help.

Stef saw the delimea and opened Callie's door for her. She squatted down next to the teen and tried to catch the girl's distant gaze. "Sweetheart. Can we get you inside?" She asked gently, hoping the teen would unbuckle herself. Stef sighed when Callie remained still and slowly stood up, bent her head into the car, and reached over the girl. "I'm gonna unbuckle you, ok?" She asked as she heard the click. Stef looked up at her younger daughter and smiled in order to relax the girl who was looking at her sister with a lost look.

"Hey baby girl will you do me a big favor and get mama and ask her to come out here? Then I want you to take a shower and get into bed. Ok? I promise I will be in to tuck you in as soon as I get your sister inside."

Mariana looked from her mother, to her sister, and then back to her mother before nodding her head and making her way out of the car. She started walking towards the front door when Stef pulled herself out of the side of the car and walked towards her youngest daughter.

She grabbed ahold of the girl and pulled her into a hug. She could feel the girl shake, which only made her hug tighter. "I'm so proud of you." Stef praised as she pulled her daughter's face into her hands. "Now go on inside, ok?" She said as she kissed the girl's forehead. Mariana nodded and continued walking as Stef watched.

Once the teen had made it to the door, she looked back at the car and inhaled deeply. She didn't know what happened at that party, but she knew that it was bad, considering how her always strong daughter was reacting.

Stef walked back to Callie's side door and resumed her previous position squatting next to the girl. "Hey, sweetheart." She said in a gently tone, using a finger to tuck a loose strand of hair behind the girl's ear. "Can we get you inside? I don't want you catching a cold out here." She explained as she cocked her head, hoping to see some sort of reaction from the girl.

"You're scaring me, love." Stef confessed when she saw no movement from the girl except for the slow blinking and shallow breaths. "Sweetie?" Stef tried once more, not knowing where to go from here. On one hand, she wanted to reach in, pick up the girl and take her inside, but she knew that it wouldn't only embarrass her, but it might frighten her. She wasn't sure how to handle the situation and she was thankful when she heard the front door open and Lena walk out towards the car.

Stef shot her wife a forced smile before turning back towards the teen. Lena walked over to her wife and ducked her head into the car. "Hi, honey!" Lena greeted the girl.

Stef looked up at her and shook her head, indicating that she wasn't receiving any responses from her either. "Hey Callie." Lena tried again. "Can you come inside with us? Please?"

Stef sighed and stood up, stretching her legs slightly from being in a crouched position for so long. She turned towards her wife and gave her a look of despair. "Lena. I don't know what to do. I don't want to scare her by touching her, but she isn't moving."

"What happened at the party?" Lena wondered, not knowing if either girl had told her any more information than they had heard on the phone.

Stef shrugged. "I dono really. All I know is there was some guy who showed up and Callie freaked. She hasn't talked since I got to them."

Lena bit her lower lip, trying to think of the best solution to the problem at hand. "Ok. Well if she doesn't want to come inside to talk, maybe we can talk to her out here." She spoke out loud.

Stef nodded at the idea and looked back towards the car, her heart sinking at the vacant look in the girl's eyes. "Yeah. We can try that."

Before either mother could move, they heard the front door open and saw Mariana sticking her head out.

"Mari, sweetie I thought you were taking a shower." Stef reminded the girl.

"I was just..." The Latina started to speak as she made her way towards the car. "Is Callie gonna be ok?" She asked in almost a whisper. "I mean I don't know what happened but I... I didn't mean for something to happen. It's my fault that I took her to that party. I didn't mean for her to get scared." She began to ramble as the mothers looked at one another. They had a silent conversation and knew that one of them needed to address their other daughter as well.

Lena walked towards the younger girl and grabbed her hands gently. "You're ok, sweetie. Come on. Mom is gonna talk with Callie for a bit and we're gonna go get you into the shower before talking, ok?" She said as she lead the girl back to the house. "It's not your fault. Callie said she wanted to go to the party too, ok?" Lena began to explain as the two made their way up the stairs.

Stef let out a sign of relief and disappointment. Relief that Mariana was with Lena, but disappointment because she didn't have her wife to help talk to Callie.

After watching the front door close once more, she gently closed Callie's side door before quickly walking towards the other back door, opening it up, climbing inside, and closing it behind her. The car was silent and dark, as the internal lights had shut off. Stef reached up and flicked on one of the manual lights, which allowed ehr to see the girl sitting next to her.

"Hi, my love." Stef began, praying that she would be able to gain some insight to the night. She forced a small smile before tilting her head towards the direction of the girl's face. "Can you look at me?" She asked gently. "Please, sweetheart? It's just you and me." She assured the girl, knowing she didn't like to show her vulnerability.

Finally, Callie moved her head towards the blonde. Immediately, Stef could see large tears forming in the girl's eyes and her heart broke for the girl. "Oh, baby." She cooed as she opened her arms in the hopes that the teen would allow her to hug her.

As if overtaken by emotions beyond her grasp, Callie flung herself into Stef's open arms and tears began to pour down her cheeks.

At first, Stef was stunned by the amount of contact and emotions the teen was displaying, but she quickly recovered by pulling the girl in closer to her body and stroking the girl's arm with her hands.

Callie's body shook with sobs as she relived her encounters with Liam, both from that night and from when he was her foster brother. All of her emotions were brimming over the surface and she couldn't stop them. She had kept quiet about the event for so long, and had shoved all of her feelings about Liam down, that she couldn't stop them once they began to flow.

"Shhhh. Sweetheart. You're ok. You're alright, my love." Stef soothed the girl as best as she could, not knowing what else to say at the moment. She was content with just holding the girl as she let out whatever she needed to before they began to talk, however, it had been a few minutes and Callie's tears were not slowing. In fact, it seemed that they were pouring out faster and she was beginning to struggle to breathe.

"Cal?" Stef said once she realized that the girl was having difficulty breathing on account of her crying. "Sweets come on." She said gently, but with authority as she pushed the girl up from where she had been resting against her. She needed the girl to sit up so she could breathe easier. "I need you to calm down for me." She instructed as she tried to get the attention of the brunette who was still looking down, struggling to take in a full breath.

"Callie!" Stef raised her voice, urgent to get the girl's attention, who was beginning to hyperventilate. She quickly pushed the girl up fully so she was sitting upright against the seat and took her face into her hands, creating a line of contact between their eyes. "Callie. Breathe. Now. In and out. In and out. Do it with me. Come on." She instructed. She wasn't exactly knowledgable on panic attacks, as none of her children had had one before, but she did what came first to her head, and it seemed to work. Slowly, the girl's breathing began to return to its normal pace and she was able to inhale the oxygen needed.

Although the girl's breathing was regulated, her tears had not stopped. Callie was mortified. Never had she shown so many emotions to someone. She tried her hardest, but she could not get herself to calm down her emotions.

"Callie?" Stef's voice pulled her from her thoughts. Callie looked up hesitantly and tried to focus on her foster mother. "Can we go inside to get you some water?" She asked with a smile.

When she received no response once again, Stef exhaled and turned her body to face the teen next to her. "Ok, my love. We can talk out here. But I need you to take some more deep breaths for me, ok?" She instructed, knowing she could make herself sick by the severity of her crying.

Callie nodded. She so desperately wanted to stop all of her current emotions and forget about the whole thing all together. She would much rather Stef had simply taken her inside and said they would talk about it tomorrow. But now she was in the back seat of a car, crying hysterically, while her foster mother just let it happen. _I'm such a baby._ The teen thought to herself as she shook her head, hoping that it would help her tears to halt.

Stef could sense that Callie was becoming frustrated with herself. "You're fine, love." She assured the girl. "We can stay out here as long as you need to."

Finally after what seemed like hours, Callie was able to control her tears until they finally stopped all together. The brunette inhaled deeply and focused her gaze on the ground- hoping to avoid any eye contact or conversation with the woman sitting next to her. However, Stef had other plans. "Can you tell me what happened?" She asked gently, knowing that the teen was most likely exhausted and wouldn't want to talk any more than she had to.

Callie's mind flew back to the party. To Liam. To his house. To that night. The emotions threatened to come back and pour out once more, but Callie stopped them before they could be seen. "Umm. You know, I'm really tired. Thank you so much for coming to get us." She began as she made sure to grab her phone and checked the ground for any other belongings before reaching over to the door handle. "It's really not that big of a deal." She explained as she opened the door. "But really. Thank you." She continued as she began to climb out of the car.

Stef could see the girl throw up her walls right in front of her and was determined to keep it from fully happening. As soon as Callie began to thank her, she knew it would be pulling teeth to get the whole story. She immediately opened up her side door and quickly made her way around to the girl's to meet her.

"I'm gonna head to bed." Callie said quickly as she tried to pass the blonde, but Stef put her hands out and steadied the girl.

"Callie." Stef said simply, waiting for a response from the girl who was back to staring at the ground.

"Callie. This was not nothing. Whatever happened, you can tell me. It will not change how much I love you. But you need to be honest with me." She explained.

The teen bit her lip in order to hold back the new wave of tears that had formed. She knew that Stef was only trying to help, but this was something she had kept to herself for many years and she didn't even know where to begin. _Maybe I can just explain what happened tonight_. She thought to herself, hoping that she could avoid the initial incident all together.

"Cal?" Stef's voice pulled the girl from her thoughts once more and finally, Callie looked up at her foster mother.

"Oh, sweetheart." Stef's lips pursed together in sadness as she saw the girl's brown eyes filled with fresh tears. "Come on. Let's get inside and talk on the couch. Ok?" She said as she wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders and began to walk both of them towards the house. When Callie locked her knees in an effort to stay put, Stef tilted her head so she was facing the girl and continued talking. "Lena is upstairs with Mariana, Jude is in bed, and the boys won't be home for a while. I promise it will be just the two of us." Stef explained and released a sigh of relief when the girl began to walk with her to the door.

* * *

><p>After getting Callie into the house, Stef led her to the living room and sat her down on one of the couches.<p>

"I'm gonna get you some water, ok?" She asked as she grabbed a blanket from the other couch and placed it next to the teen. "Do you need anything else?"

Callie simply shook her head and looked down to her jeans, picking at a loose string.

Stef sighed and nodded. "Ok. Be right back."

Callie waited until Stef had walked into the kitchen before exhaling a breath she didn't even know she was holding. _Pull yourself together._ She instructed herself. _Tell her only what she asks for, nothing more. You can do this. _

A few minutes later, Stef returned to the living room with two glasses of water and an apple that she had sliced up. "I didn't know if you were hungry." She explained as she put all three items on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat down next to the teen. She waited a moment to let Callie situate herself before she licked her dry lips and began to talk.

"Ok. I know you don't want to talk, but this is something that is obviously very important and keeping it to yourself will only make things worse for you in the long run." Stef began, hoping that if she comforted the girl as much as possible at the beginning, then she would allow herself to speak to Stef. "And I know you have had some terrible adults in your life previously, who might take advantage of whatever is bothering you, but I want you to know that in this house, you are safe. You are loved and you are cared about. I'm here to listen and hopefully do what I can to help you. But for me to help, I need you to trust me enough to talk." She concluded. "Do you think you can trust me enough?" She asked, praying that the answer would be yes.

Callie didn't respond for a moment. Deep down she felt like she could trust Stef, but she had been played by trust before and it had only broken her when she realized that the person who she thought she could trust was lying. However, finally looking up from her jeans, she could tell that Stef wasn't going to let her leave until they talked, so she figured she needed to say something.

"I... Ummm." She began, praying that she would be able to get through this without falling apart.

As if she could read her mind, Stef responded gently. "It's ok. I know this is hard, but you are safe. Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

Callie nodded as she blinked back a tear. "Uhh. There was a guy who I saw there. Umm someone who I knew from a different foster house and he uhh he and I didn't uhhh I don't really get along with him." She began, her line of sight moving around the room. "He was at the party and I got scared that I mean I hadn't seen him in a long time so I wasn't like ready to see him. And it kinda scared me I guess." She stumbled through the night as quickly as she could. "Uhh and when I saw him, I saw Mariana and told her I needed to go to the bathroom and then he kept pounding on the door. He was drunk, but it was kinda scary. So I asked Mari to call you." She finished, inhaling deeply and hoping that it would be enough for the woman.

Stef waited silently until Callie lifted her eyes up and they met. "It seemed like it was something a little more than that, sweetie." She said gently. She didn't like to point out when she thought one of her children was saying something wrong or dishonest, but she knew this was a situation in which she needed to pry in order to get the truth that she had a gut feeling wasn't pretty.

"Uhh I mean he scares me so I wanted to get out." Callie tried again.

"Sweetheart." Stef said as she grabbed ahold of the girl's hands and gently squeezed them. "Please. You're alright. I just want to help you. Please let me help you."

Stef's eyes said more than her words and Callie could feel a lump form in her throat.

"Uhh. Well he was... he was a foster brother." She began. "And he was one of the first people to actually seem like he cared about me. He gave me candy secretly and stole money from his parents and gave it to me. He made me feel special." She said and tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"But after a while, he started doing things that weren't really allowed." She looked up to Stef who gave her an encouraging smile and gently squeezed her hands, which she still had ahold of. "He would hold my hand under the blanket and kiss me on the cheek. Uhhh and then one day he kissed me." She looked to the blonde thinking that she would look disgusted with her, but she only nodded her head. "He made me feel like I was worth something, so I let it happen." She explained.

"Keep going, sweetie. You're doing a great job."

Callie nodded and inhaled deeply before continuing. "Uhh one day. Uhh he told me he wanted to have sex. And I... I didn't want to... I wasn't ready." She was blinking back tears, but they began to form too quickly and a few fell. "Uhh he... he waited until everyone was out to dinner and took me into his room... and he... he said we were going to do it." By now the tears were falling freely down both girl's faces. "He forced me to... forced me to have sex with him." She finally said what she had been holding in for so many years. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders and she collapsed into Stef's lap, not bothering to hold back any tears.

Stef quickly gathered the girl in her lap and held her close. She assumed that she was one of if not the only people who knew about this, based on her current reaction. She didn't know what to say in order to comfort the girl, so she stuck with rubbing random shapes on the girl's back and gently rocking her in her arms.

After a solid 10 minutes of silence, Stef looked over at the clock and saw that it was almost 11 and that the boys would be home shortly. She knew Callie would be mortified if they saw her in this state, so she kissed the girl on the top of the head and spoke softly. "Thank you for telling me, sweetheart. You are so brave. I am so proud of you." She knew there was much more that they needed to discuss, but at the moment, she knew Callie was drained and would be better off sleeping and talking in the morning.

Stef lifted the girl's face up towards her own and smiled. "Let's get you upstairs, yes? We can talk more tomorrow."

Callie nodded as she wiped the stray tears from her cheeks and stood up. Stef stood up next to her daughter and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a standing hug. "I love you." She said simply to the girl.

"Thank you."


	6. It's Not Fair

**Lena and Jude talk about Frankie and Colleen. **

**Please send more requests! And thanks for reading!**

"Oh! You're up?!" Stef exclaimed as she watched her wife slowly travel down the stairs. They had lost the baby only a week prior, and Lena had been in bed for most of the time, due to her healing body.

Lena smiled at her wife. "Yeah." She stated quietly. She hadn't been very vocal since losing the baby.

Stef smiled and walked towards the stairs to meet her. "You hungry?" She asked in a hopeful voice.

Lena shook her head no and Stef sighed. She had barely eaten since she was released from the hospital. "How about something light?" She tried again, hoping that Lena would get at least a little something in her stomach.

Lena sighed. She knew that Stef was just looking out for her well-being, but she really had no appetite. It hurt too much to eat. However, she knew that worried look would not leave the blonde's face until she ate something so she slowly nodded her head. "Sure, love."

"Ok! How about toast? With butter?" Stef said with excitement as she led Lena to the breakfast nook. Lena merely nodded and sat down, clutching her side in pain.

"I'll get your pain meds in a second, ok?" Stef said as she grabbed some bread out and stuck it in the toaster. Again, Lena nodded and looked forward at nothing in particular.

Stef sighed at the lack of verbal answer, but continued to talk, in the hopes that her wife would begin to respond. "So, kids will start coming down in a few minutes. I'm gonna take them to school and I have to go into work to grab some paperwork to do at home. But when I get home, we can spend the rest of the day doing whatever you like." She paused, waiting for a response, but when she got none, she continued. "Anything special you would like to do today, love?"

Lena looked towards her wife and bit her lip. "I don't care." She finally responded before turning her head towards the stairs, where she heard footsteps, indicating that her children were coming downstairs for breakfast.

Stef decided to wait and talk with her wife after the kids left, so she turned her attention towards the stairs as well and smiled when she saw Brandon, Mariana and Jesus emerge into the kitchen. "Morning, babies!" She exclaimed with a smile.

Three "morning"s were the response as the kids went to grab something for breakfast. Mariana was the first one to notice that Lena was not in bed. "Mama!" she exclaimed and walked over towards her mother, her brothers stopping what they were doing to look over.

Lena seemed to snap out whatever she was thinking about and smiled slightly at her daughter. "Hi, sweetie." She greeted her daughter.

"Are you feeling better?" Mariana asked, sitting across from the woman.

Lena smiled again and nodded. "Yeah. A little, I guess." She agreed. She was after all out of bed on her own accord.

"Yay!" The teen responded, smiling brightly.

"Mari, love. Come eat, please. You can chat with mama after school today." Stef said as she walked up to her daughter and kissed her head before placing the toast, medicine, and a glass of water in front of her wife.

"Ok." She responded with a slump of her shoulders. She got up and walked to the refrigerator as Stef continued talking. "Hey. Where are Callie and Jude?" She asked as she looked around and saw that only 3 of her children had come downstairs.

"I dono." She replied, shrugging her shoulders. Stef looked at the boys who replied in a similar way.

Suddenly, more footsteps could be heard and Callie quickly made her way into the kitchen. Before Stef could open her mouth, Callie walked over to her and Lena with a concerned look on her face. "I think Jude is sick." She informed the mothers, biting her bottom lip in anxiousness. She was still getting used to the fact that she didn't have to be the one to always take care of her brother.

"Ok, sweets. Thanks for telling us." Stef said as she reached out and squeezed the teen's arm gently. "Why don't you go grab something to eat and I will go check on him?"

Callie nodded with a small smile and Stef moved down towards her wife to give her a gentle hug. "I'll be right back, my love." She whispered as she kissed her wife's cheek.

* * *

><p>Stef stood outside of her younger sons' door and listened for a moment. She didn't hear anything, so she knocked a few times before opening the door. Stef smiled at the young boy, who was lying in his bed, half of his school clothes on, the other half waiting to be put on; as if he had fallen asleep while changing.<p>

Stef walked over to the boy and grabbed his pajamas up off of the floor before taking a seat on the boy's bed. At the sudden movement, Jude opened his eyes and stared at Stef with a slightly confused face. After a moment, he realized that he was late and began to rush to put the rest of his clothes on.

"Sorry!" He exclaimed as he pulled his shirt on.

"Sweetie." Stef said with a smile as she put her hand on his arm to stop his movements. "Are you not feeling well?" She asked, cocking her head and putting her free hand on the boy's forehead.

Jude slumped his shoulders and looked down. "Well kinda. But Callie came and checked on me. But I can probably go to school." He rushed through his words and looked up slightly.

Stef shook her head. "What hurts, my love?"

Jude shrugged. "I dono. My head and stomach a little."

"Why don't you change back into these" She began, holding out the pajamas she had picked up off of the floor, "and hop back into bed. You can stay home with mama and me today, ok?" She instructed.

"Are you sure?" Jude asked quietly.

Stef smiled again and kissed his temple. "I'm sure, baby." Stef said as she helped the boy back under the covers and kissed his forehead once again. "Hmm you seem a little warm." She commented after touching her lips to his forehead. "I'm gonna get the thermometer." She said as she walked out of the room.

Stef headed down the stairs to grab the thermometer, some water, and a piece of toast, just in case Jude got hungry. As she walked into the kitchen, Jesus and Brandon were just bringing their plates up to the sink, and her daughters were just finishing up their breakfast.

"Alright, my loves. Jude is staying home. He's sick. So I'm gonna need you guys to walk to school, ok?" She asked as she went the the drawer to grab the thermometer.

Brandon looked up and nodded before he turned to finish getting ready.

"Jesus. Did you remember to take your..." Stef began before she heard a groan from her middle son "Yes, mom!"

Stef turned and raised an eyebrow at her son's attitude. "Watch the attitude."

Jesus muttered a sorry before following his brother up the stairs.

Stef put a piece of toast into the toaster before turning to her daughters, who were still finishing up. "That means get a move on, babies." She exclaimed as she walked over to her wife, who hadn't moved since she went to check on Jude.

"Hi, babe. How are you feeling?" Stef asked as she heard the girls get up to put their plates in the sink as well before climbing back up the stairs.

Lena shrugged and Stef noted that the medicine was gone, but that only half of the glass of water had been drunk and only a bite of toast was missing. "Not hungry?" She asked with a sigh.

Lena shook her head and looked up. "Sorry."

Stef's face fell into sadness. "You don't have to apologize, baby."

"Is Jude ok?" Lena asked, hoping to shift her focus away from her own pain.

Stef nodded as she walked back over to the toast she was making. "He wanted to try and go to school, but I could feel that he has a slight fever. Plus, he looked pale." She walked back over to her wife with everything she needed for Jude. "How about I take you back upstairs and you can sleep some more until I get home? Ok?"

Lena nodded and allowed Stef to help her stand up before the two of them slowly walked up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Lena was in a restless sleep when she heard one door open and another one slam shut. She fully woke herself up and her forehead crinkled as she thought about who was still home with her. <em>Jude!<em> she thought as she slowly got herself out of bed. Her pain was still there, but it had dulled, so it didn't hurt as much when she made it out of her room and to the kids' bathroom, which was the only door upstairs that was fully shut.

"Jude?" She called out as she softly knocked on the door.

She heard no response except for the flushing of the toilet and the sink turning on.

"Sweetie, are you ok?" She tried again. Realizing that when she was able to focus on Jude, everything seemed to hurt a little less.

Finally, after the water shut off, the door opened and Jude emerged from the bathroom.

"Oh, honey!" She exclaimed as she reached out and felt his forehead. "Oh baby. You're warm. Did mom take your temperature?" She asked as she noted his pale color.

Jude nodded and rubbed his eyes.

"Come 'ere." Lena said as she led him into her room. She sat him down on the bed before taking a seat next to him. "What hurts?"

"My stomach and head." He muttered as he rubbed his eyes again.

"Did she already give you some medicine?"

Once again, Jude nodded.

"Ok, sweetie. Why don't you rest here with me so I can keep an eye on you." She suggested as she pulled back the covers and let the boy get into the bed.

"Thanks." He said quietly before he closed his eyes and drifted off into a much needed sleep.

* * *

><p>Jude slept for a few hours while Lena sat next to him in bed and read a book. She smiled when the boy began to stir and placed her book on the table beside her. "Hi, honey!" She said quietly as he opened his eyes. "Feeling better?" She asked.<p>

Jude yawned before smiling up at Lena. "Yeah. Thanks."

Lena smiled back and used the back of her hand to check his temperature. "Still a slight fever." She determined "But you're feeling better?" She asked and he nodded.

Lena sighed and nodded. She herself hadn't been able to rest and could feel her mental exhaustion, but she didn't want Jude to feel awkward just sitting in her bed.

"Are you ok?" The small voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"What?" She asked as she looked down at the boy.

"You look sad." He said simply.

Lena smiled and rested her head down on the pillows, facing the young boy, as he did the same thing.

"I'm ok, sweetie." She started, but when he looked at her with such interest and care, she decided to tell him the truth. "I miss Frankie." She whispered.

Jude nodded his head and looked into his mother's eyes. "I do too." He whispered back.

Lena smiled at the boy's wisdom and ruffled his hair. "Anything else you want to talk to me about?" She asked when she saw a look in his eyes. A look that was of confusion and uneasiness.

Jude bit his bottom lip, as if he was deciding whether or not to continue talking.

"You can tell me anything, baby." Lena reminded him.

"It's not fair." He whispered and Lena moved closer so she could hear.

"What's not fair?" She asked as she lightly traced random patterns on his arm.

"Why did she have to die? It's not fair." He started. "She didn't even get to try. She didn't do anything wrong. Why did she die when she didn't even get to live?" His voice quickened and a tear fell from his eye.

Lena decided that she would let the boy continue before she spoke.

"I didn't even know her and I miss her." He said quietly before more tears fell. "I never got to know either of them." He choked out.

"Oh, honey." Lena said as she realized this was more than just Frankie. It was about his mother as well. She reached out and pulled him closer to her and let him cry. It was rare that Jude talked about his mother, and she knew he had some things that needed to be said. She wondered if anyone had really talked with him about his mother's passing. As she placed a kiss on his head she continued the conversation. "Can you talk to me about her?" She asked.

"I don't know! It's not fair!" His voice heightened. "It's not fair! I never even got to know her. I don't remember anything!" Lena could feel him begin to shake while crying.

"Have you and Callie ever talked about her?" She asked gently, hoping to calm him down.

Lena felt him shake his head and she sighed. "She doesn't like to talk about her." He whispered.

Lena made a mental note to talk to Callie about this. She knew the girl had trouble discussing difficult topics, but she had no idea how badly it was affecting Jude.

"You know what?" She asked after Jude had better composed himself.

"What?" He sniffled.

"I know how you feel. I never got to know Frankie. And it must be twice as hard for you because there are two people you didn't get a fair amount of time with. But it's ok to talk about them." She reminded him and he let out another small sob. "It really is. It's actually good." She said and then thought out loud. "I haven't been doing a very good job of talking about Frankie." Lena turned the boy towards her and looked into his eyes. "Maybe we can work on this together." She suggested. as she wiped a tear that had fallen from her own eye.

Jude looked at Lena with questioning eyes. "But I don't know what to even talk about." He confessed.

"You know, I don't really know either. But we can figure it out together." She replied honestly.

This time, Jude didn't respond.

"You think we can do that?" She asked as she used a finger to lift the boy's fallen gaze.

Finally, he looked up at Lena and nodded his head.

Lena smiled sadly at him and kissed his temple.

The two sat in silence before Jude quietly spoke. "I'm sorry you never got to meet Frankie. It's not fair."

"You're right, baby. It's not fair. A lot of things aren't fair. But you know what is fair?" She asked and Jude looked up at her with questioning eyes. "That I found you. And that you are part of my life now. I can't imagine my life without you." She whispered as she inhaled and shook the tears away.

Jude snuggled into Lena and sniffled. "I can't imagine my life without you, either. You're the best thing that has happened to me and Callie since my mom died."

Lena smiled. "I love you, my baby."

"I love you too, mama."


	7. I'm Listening

**I'm working on You are Safe, You are Loved but I figured I would give you this little one shot while you wait!**

**Jesus and Callie have a heart-to-heart. 3**

* * *

><p>"Callie! Wait. Please." Lena began to follow the teen out of her room.<p>

Callie stopped, knowing she should obey the woman, but she turned around and quickly wiped away the tears that were threatening to spill over. "I promise I'm ok, Lena." She said as confidently as possible, hoping to leave it at that.

"Sweetie." Lena began again before Callie held up her hands. "Please. I'm fine. I just need to go for a walk." Callie said as she turned to continue her previous journey down the stairs.

"Ok." Lena said as she bit her bottom lip. Before Callie could disappear down the stairs, she called out after her. "Please bring your phone." After hearing a distant response, she whispered "I love you".

Lena waited until she heard the front door shut, indicating that Callie had left the house before she allowed a sob to escape from her lips. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, wondering how she would get Callie to open up to her. Deep down she knew that the girl needed to vocalize and process her thoughts and feelings, but it didn't seem like the teen wanted to. _Or maybe she doesn't know how._ Lena thought to herself as she remained standing in the hallway.

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening caused Lena to gather her composure and turn her head towards Jesus who had been in his room.

"Hi, honey." She said, trying to mask her feelings for the sake of her child.

Jesus looked at his mother with such caring eyes. "What happened with Callie? Is she alright?" He asked.

Lena nodded quickly, "Yeah. She's just going for a walk. Needed some space. She'll be fine."

"Are you fine?" He asked, this time directing the question to Lena.

The mother looked up at her son with such love. He was always the one getting into trouble, forgetting to do his homework, and creating messes, but it amazed her how gentle and compassionate her middle son truly was. "I wish I could help her." Lena finally admitted with a small smile.

Jesus crinkled his forehead in confusion. "What do you mean? You've helped her so much. Remember how she was when she first got here?" Jesus smiled as the both thought back to that first night.

"Yeah. But that was mostly outer stuff that just took time. She is dealing with a lot of stuff internally and I don't know how to help her." Lena said out loud, not revealing too much personal information to her son.

Jesus nodded. "Mariana and I went through stuff like that too." He smiled. "And we turned out pretty good!"

Lena smiled and cupped her hand to his face. "You sure did, baby."

Jesus smiled back and looked at his phone to see the time. "I think I'm gonna go walk with Callie. Keep her company." He stated with a look that told his mom that he would keep an eye out for her.

Lena's heart swelled and she nodded. "Thank you"

* * *

><p>"Hey Callie! Callie! Wait up!" Jesus yelled from the end of the driveway. Luckily, the teen hadn't gotten too far, on account of thoughts wondering, causing her pace to slow.<p>

Callie turned around with a confused look. "Jesus?" She asked as the boy jogged towards her. "What are you doing?" She asked when he reached her.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked casually as they began to walk together down the sidewalk.

Callie looked at him again before sighing. "Sure. That's fine."

The two walked in silence before Callie questioned Jesus. "Did Lena send you out here to walk with me?"

The boy didn't skip a beat when he replied. "No. I wanted to walk. Catch up with you. Ya know. I mean I could be inside playing video games, so she was totally fine when I told her I wanted to walk with you." He joked, causing Callie to smile.

They continued to walk towards no particular destination in silence.

"But ya know, if you wanted to talk to me about anything, I'm a good listener." Jesus offered.

Callie scoffed at the thought. "Oh really? I'd like to hear what Stef and Lena would say to that statement." She teased.

"It's called selective hearing." Jesus began to explain. "And I tend to selectively not hear them" he finished with a grin.

Callie giggled and nudged him with her shoulder. "Ohh. Now I've got some good blackmail." She stated.

Jesus laughed. "It's not blackmail when they know it too!" He replied.

Callie smiled back.

Their conversation ended once more and they went back to walking in silence.

Callie tried to focus on just walking, but her head was filled with so many thoughts that she couldn't keep them all straight.

"So. Like I said." Jesus began again. "I'm here to listen."

Callie didn't respond at first. She knew she could trust Jesus and that he was only trying to help, but she feared that if she opened her mouth, tears would follow her words and she hated crying in front of people.

"It's stupid." Callie started. She looked over at Jesus, but he didn't respond, indicating that he was still listening. Callie exhaled. "I have a picture of Jude, my mom, and me from when Jude was born." She began as they turned a corner. "It's really the only good picture I have of the three of us." She continued, finding some strength within herself to do so. "And yesterday, when I came home, I didn't realize it had fallen off of my nightstand and into the garbage next to my bed." Callie began to tear up at the thought and her voice hitched. "Ummm. And I threw some other stuff in there. On top of it." She stopped walking for a moment and closed her eyes, trying with every fiber in her being to not cry.

Jesus gently put his arm around her shoulders and encouraged her to keep going.

"I was looking for it today, and when I couldn't find it anywhere on my floor or in a drawer, I emptied out my trashcan. And..." tears began to fall from the brunette's eyes. "And It's ruined." She choked out with a sob. "My only picture of us is ruined. And I..." She bit her lip in an effort to stop her sobs. "I.. That's all I had of her. I mean I know I have my necklace," she said as she played with the chain around her neck. "But this was the only picture." She finished before quickly wiping away at the tears.

Jesus sighed as they turned another corner, which had caused them to begin their journey back to the house. He waited for a moment to speak, allowing Callie to collect her thoughts and have some time for herself. Once he felt her begin to relax, he let his hand drop from her shoulder and he turned to smile at her.

Callie looked back at him and gave him a look. "I told you it was stupid." She mumbled as she turned back forward to see where she was walking.

"I don't think it's stupid." Jesus finally spoke and Callie looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Really." He continued as they turned another corner. "But you know what I do think is stupid?" He asked, causing Callie to become interested in his answer and turning to look at him.

"What?" She asked hesitantly.

"You thinking that is all you have of her." He stated simply and looked forward, giving Callie time to process what he said.

"Oh." Callie responded and dropped her head.

"What does that picture say about her?" He asked and Callie looked at him with a questioning look. "I mean does it show who she really was? To you?" He rephrased.

Callie sighed, seeing where he was going with his point. "No. I guess not. But I don't have a single picture of the three of us now. It was something special. I'm beginning to forget what she looked like and that scares me." Callie responded, tears forming once more.

"Remember when Mariana dyed her hair blonde?" Jesus asked and Callie smiled slightly at the event.

"Yeah. So?"

"So she looked different, but she was still the same Mariana, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. I guess she was." Callie confessed.

The two made it back to the house and before Callie could walk up the front steps, Jesus put his arm around her and sat both of them down on the stairs. "What I'm trying to say is that people change how they look all of the time. And it doesn't really matter if you can't remember her physical look. What matters is that you remember her personality, the reasons why you love her and what she did for you and Jude. Those are the memories that count." He explained. "And I guarantee you, you can't find those in a single picture."

Tears pooled in Callie's eyes as she leaned her head onto Jesus' shoulder. "She was an amazing mom." She finally whispered before letting out a sob.

Jesus smiled and wrapped the teen into his arms. His only response was him saying "I'm listening."


	8. Car Accident: Part 1

**Thanks for the suggestion for this from two different readers!**

**This will be a 2-part story, so don't fret! **

**Jude, Mariana, and Callie get into a car accident.**

* * *

><p>"Really, Mariana? You just went to the mall yesterday." Stef questioned as the 15-year-old followed her around the kitchen.<p>

"Mom. I just was going to meet up with some girls there and look." She informed her mother before folding her hands and giving the blonde a pleading look. "Please? I won't stay out late."

"Mariana, love I don't have time right now to drive you. I'm sorry, my love next time I need a little more notice before, ok?" Stef responded, stopping to look at her daughter who looked defeated.

At the sound of footsteps coming down the steps, and Callie emerging from the stairway, Mariana's face lit up once more and she exclaimed, "What about Callie? She her her license! Can we borrow the car?" She exclaimed as she pleaded to both her mother and the teen who looked uneasily at the ground.

"Babe, Callie just got her license two months ago. And I'm sure she doesn't wanna be driving you all over town on her Friday night." Stef answered for Callie.

"But it's literally a 10 minute drive" Mariana pointed out. "Ohh! And Cal! You can look and see if they have that new camera lens you were looking at." Mariana reminded her and Callie's head snapped upon interest.

"What camera lens?" Stef asked, resting her outstretched hand on the table and leaning on it slightly.

"Oh" Callie began to respond. "It's nothing really. I was just looking at some equipment." She quickly stated. "But no yeah I can take her, it's fine. I don't mind." She continued quickly and looked towards Mariana who was clapping her hands excitedly.

"Yay! Thanks, Cal!" She said and skipped over to the stairs. "I'm gonna grab my stuff." She said before disappearing up the stairs.

Callie stood in the kitchen with slight awkwardness. She had been with the Adams Foster family for a while now, but when it was just her and one of the moms, she always got just a little uneasy.

"You sure you're ok with this, love?" Stef asked as she walked over to the girl who tried to look busy by looking at her phone.

Callie looked up quickly and smiled. "Oh yeah. It's totally fine."

"You know how Mariana can push." Stef stated as she rested a gentle hand on Callie's shoulder. "You don't have to take her just because she asked."

"I know." Callie nodded and put her phone away. "I want to go too." She stated, hoping that it would be enough for Stef to drop the conversation.

The older woman nodded and lightly squeezed the girl's arm as she let go and walked back towards the oven. "Alright, my love. But I'm making dinner tonight so please be home by 8."

Callie gave her a look of disbelief. "You're making dinner?"

Stef turned around and dramatically put her hand over her heart and gasped. "Are you implying that I can't cook?" She asked.

Callie smirked as she headed towards the front door to grab her wallet. "It's not implying if we both know it's true."

Stef grabbed the hand towel next to her and balled it up before throwing it at Callie who had by then made it to the bottom of the stairs. "I'm making pizza! Does that work for you, your royal heinous?"

"Pizza?" Jesus' voice could be heard from the top of the stairs. "What? Is mom in charge of dinner tonight?" He asked as he hurried down the stairs only to be met with a faked look of hurt on Stef's face.

"Well maybe you all can have dog food tonight instead." She replied as Callie walked back into the room with her wallet.

"I mean those options are pretty equal" Jesus said quickly before smiling and walking over to Stef and hugging her. "Just kidding, mom." He said and kissed her on the cheek.

She rolled her eyes but hugged him back. "Yeah, yeah. Sure." She replied in a joking tone before looking over at Callie who was waiting next to the kitchen table, clearly wanting to ask something, but not sure how.

"Whatcha need, sweets?" Stef asked as Jesus pulled away from her and walked into the living room to play video games.

"Uhhh." Callie stared down at her shoes for a moment before looking up. "Can I please borrow your keys?" She asked quietly, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable.

Stef smiled and nodded before going to find her purse. "Of course, my love." She said as she fished them out of the bag and handed them to the teen. "And thank you again for taking little Miss Diva" Stef said as she gave the brunette a quick hug.

Callie smiled and nodded, looking at the keys and the numerous keychains that accompanied them. Many were from different locations, some cards for grocery stores, and a few with the kids' names on it. Callie smiled at the personalized keychain and thought she could find something special for Stef and Lena to add to their keychains that was from her. Now she definitely wanted to go shopping.

"Are you going somewhere?" A small voice interrupted Callie's thoughts as she pulled herself away from the keychain and looked over at Jude who had walked into the kitchen on his way to play video games with Jesus.

"I'm just taking Mariana to the store. Wanna come?" She asked almost instantly before her eyes widened and she looked over at Stef, realizing that she hadn't even asked for permission. "I mean..." She began, but Stef knew the train of thought going through her head and stopped her.

"That sounds like fun, Jude!" She soothed the girl's fear.

Callie smiled and looked back at her younger brother. "Gotta decide quick before Mariana gets back down here." She slightly teased.

"Ok!" Jude said with a smile and a nod before walking towards the closet for his shoes and jacket.

"Okaaaayyy!" Mariana sang as she ran down the stairs.

Stef rolled her eyes with a laugh at the dramatics of her daughter and looked over at Callie. "Please be safe and text me when you get there and when you're coming home, yes?"

Callie nodded. "Ok. I will."

Mariana ran into the kitchen and grabbed Callie by the arm. "Come on! Let's go!" She said as she pulled the older teen

Callie laughed. "Jude is coming with us." She informed.

"Oh! Judicorn! Yay!" Stef could hear Mariana begin to discuss with Jude what she was going to buy at the store.

"Hey, little one I thought you said you were just gonna look!" Stef called out.

"Yeah. That's what Im doing!" She called back before the front door opened and closed, drowning out their voices.

Stef walked over to the front door and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked out the window.

"You know she's gonna buy something, right?" Jesus asked from the couch, not looking up from his video game.

Stef chuckled and nodded her head. "Yup. That's Miss Thing." She agreed before turning to go check back on the pizza.

* * *

><p>"We had a lot of fun." Jude concluded as he and Callie walked around the mall together. He had just finished telling his sister about one of his friend's recent birthday parties. Callie smiled with pride. She was so happy to see that Jude was fitting so well into his new adopted family and lifestyle.<p>

"That's great, bud!" Callie exclaimed as she clutched the small bag, which contained the keychains she had bought for her foster moms. She was extremely nervous about picking the right ones, but after a half hour of comparing, she finally picked out two that she liked and was satisfied.

"Uhh where did Mariana say she was going?" Callie asked as she looked at her phone to check the time.

"I dono. She said she was meeting up with Hayley I think... I don't remember." He said with a sigh.

"It's ok, bud." Callie said, ruffling his hair before dialing the teen's number. "I'll call her."

On the 3rd ring, Mariana picked up and greeted Callie, "Hey! What's up?" She asked.

"Uh hey. I hate to break up your shopping trip, but it's 7:30 and we need to be home by 8." Callie said, twirling her hair around her finger anxiously. She absolutely did not want to get in trouble so soon after getting her license.

"It's only a 10 minute drive!" Mariana stated. She was in one of the stores with a group of girls from the dance team and it was hard enough that she wasn't fitting in, but if she left early, they would think she didn't want to be with them, which she so desperately did.

"Ok." Callie said, chewing on her lip. She didn't want to argue with Mariana, so she came up with a compromise. "How about Jude and I go get the car and we'll meet you at the entrance we came in? In 15 minutes?"

Mariana sighed and nodded her head before responding. "Alright. Thanks, Ca." She said honestly as she hung up the phone and put a fake annoyed look on as she walked back over to the girls. "Uhhh my stupid brother wants to go home and I have to leave in like 10 minutes." She tried to sound like it was a huge hassle.

One of the girls looked at her and rolled her eyes. "This is why you need a boyfriend. So he can take you places." She said as she laughed at the brunette and walked away.

Mariana sighed and brushed off the comment, putting a fake smile on her face and continued to follow the group.

* * *

><p>20 minutes later, Callie felt her heart begin to quicken its pace as Mariana still hadn't come out of the mall. She looked over her shoulder at Jude who was in the backseat and smiled, trying not to worry him. "I'm gonna give her a call." She said as she pulled out her phone and dialed Mariana's number again. When it went to voicemail, Callie groaned and sent the girl a message instead telling her to hurry up of they were going to be late.<p>

"I could go in and look for her." Jude offered, knowing Callie had to stay in the car, as it was pulled over on the shoulder with its hazards on.

"No." Callie shook her head. She didn't trust Jude walking around the mall alone. "It's fine. She told me she would be here." She said, putting more faith in the teen than she really believed deep down.

Finally, 3 minutes later, Mariana ran out of the mall and looked around for a few seconds before she spotted the car. She walked quickly over and opened the passenger seat door. "I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed as she quickly shut the door and put her seatbelt on. Callie checked the time and noted that she had 7 minutes to get back. She put the car in drive and sped off.

The car ride was quiet- neither girl wanted to talk about why Mariana was late, and Jude was content with the silence.

As Callie approached a light, she increased her speed, hoping to catch it before it turned yellow.

"Uhhh!" Mariana groaned as she looked down at her phone and closed her eyes.

Callie looked over at the girl for a moment in order to see what was wrong. Before she could open her mouth, Jude's voice flooded the car. "Callie! Watch out!"

* * *

><p>"Brandon! Shake a leg! Come on!" Stef called up to her oldest son as she and Jesus waited in the kitchen so they could eat.<p>

"What time is mom getting home?" Jesus asked as he finished setting the table and sat down.

When he didn't hear his mother answer, Jesus looked over at Stef and saw her checking her phone. "Mom?" He asked again.

Stef looked up from her phone with a confused look. "Sorry, my love. What did you say?"

Jesus cocked his head. "I was just asking when mom was coming home. What's wrong?"

Stef smiled at her son and walked over to the table. "Nothing, my sweet boy." She assured him as she kissed his forehead. "And she should be back by 9." She answered as she sat down at the table, still looking at her phone.

"Ok hello! I'm not stupid, mom. Why do you keep checking your phone?" Jesus asked with curiosity.

Stef sighed and looked up again. "It's almost 8:15 and Mari, Callie and Jude still aren't back from the mall. I told them to be back by 8." She explained.

"Mariana probably lost track of time." He stated simply.

"And Callie and Jude?" Stef responded.

Jesus shrugged as he grabbed for a piece of pizza before Stef slapped his hand away. "Woah. Rude." He said in a half-joking manner. "I'm sure it's fine. I;m sure it has something to do with those stupid dance girls Mariana hangs out with." He mumbled.

"Hey now! Young man. That isn't nice." Stef chastised.

Before Jesus could respond, Stef's phone began to ring. She eagerly grabbed it and looked at the number. She exhaled when she saw Callie's name pop up on the screen and held up her pointer finger to Jesus asking him to wait while she took the call.

"Callie?" She asked.

"Stef?"

The blonde could sense something was off right away at the sound of the teen's voice. "Callie, sweetie? What's wrong?" Stef asked anxiously.

"Ummm" The girl's voice hitched as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Callie?" Stef said in a more stern voice. She could feel the panic begin to bubble in her throat. "Talk to me."

By this time, Brandon had come down the stairs and both boys were looking at their mother with equally concerned looks.

"I'm so sorry." Callie mustered out with a sob.

Stef turned to the boys and lifted the phone from her mouth just enough so she could talk to them. "One of you. Gimmie your phone." She demanded and Jesus dug his out of his pocket and handed it to the blonde cop.

Stef silently thanked him before turning it on and looking for the find my phone app. She brought her phone back to her mouth and began to speak to the girl once more. "Callie. Where are you?" She asked, even though she would find out momentarily from the app.

Stef heard faint sirens and knew something bad had happened. "Callie! Where are Mariana and Jude?" Her voice broke as she called out once more.

"I'm sorry." was all the girl could say before a man's voice began talking.

"I'm coming, baby. Keep calm for me, ok?" Stef asked as she grabbed her keys and jacket. "Callie answer me!" She said, more for her sanity than anything else.

"Ok." She whispered.

Unknowingly, the boys had followed their mother out to the car and Brandon proceeded to grab the keys from his shaking mother's hand. She looked at him with question and then nodded when he indicated that he would drive. Stef got into the passenger's seat and Jesus climbed in the back.

"You still there?" Stef asked as she gave Brandon Jesus' phone, which had the location of Callie's phone on it. They were less than 10 minutes away and Brandon began to drive as Stef continued to talk to the teen.

"I'm sorry." Callie said once more, causing Stef only more panic.

"Baby. What happened? Whatever it is, it's gonna be ok." She tried to soothe the girl's anxiety but Callie only answered with a quiet "I have to go."

"No! Callie! Stay on the phone with me! Just until I get there. I'm on my way now." Stef racked her brain with ideas to talk to the girl about to keep her on the phone. "Where are Mariana and Jude?" She asked, trying not to let her fear escape through her tone of voice.

"Jude?" Callie responded almost as if she was distracted.

"Callie. Stay with me." Stef said as she looked over at Brandon who was focused on the road. "Are Jude and Mariana ok?" She asked again.

"I'm so sorry."

Stef let out a sob. It was almost worse not knowing what was happening because her mind automatically went to the worse possible scenario. Before Stef could try and talk to Callie again, she noticed red and blue lights flashing ahead of her and she gasped when she saw an ambulance at the intersection of the next major light.

A police officer had stopped traffic coming from all directions and Brandon was only able to travel a few feet closer before he was forced to stop as well. Stef ripped off her seat belt and took off towards the lights and ambulance.

"Stef." A police officer stated as he saw his co-worker frantically running towards the scene.

The blonde pushed passed them as she spotted the car her kids had taken. She gasped as she saw the passenger's side and right back side crumpled and glass was shattered everywhere.

Stef ran to the car and sighed in relief when she saw Callie sitting on the ground next to the car. Her relief turned to confusion as she slowly approached the girl and crouched down next to her. "Callie?" She asked gently as she put a hand on the shaking girl who had her arms wrapped around her bent legs. She had blood on her shirt, but nothing looked too serious.

Callie looked up at the sound of Stef's voice and tears poured out as she shook her head and let it fall back down to her knees.

Stef kissed the girl on the head and turned to see Jesus and Brandon behind her. "Stay with her." She instructed as she rose from her crouched position and made her way to the ambulance where she saw a small boy on a stretcher. "Jude?" She called out and ran to the stretcher as they reached the ambulance.

She sighed in relief when she saw he was conscious. "Hi, baby." She said as she chocked on a sob. She smiled and smoothed his hair back, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Are you ok? What hurts?" She asked as the paramedics gave the mother a minute to talk with her son.

"I'm ok." Jude said with a small smile. "Just my arm and shoulder hurts." He admitted. Stef nodded and kissed his forehead again. "Do you know where Mariana is?" Stef asked, exhaling as the anxiety filled her body once more.

Jude looked over at the car and then back at Stef. "She's still in the car." He almost whispered and Stef took a deep breath before turning back to the boy. "Ok, my sweet, sweet boy. I'm gonna go see how your sister is doing, alright?" She asked, trying to force out a smile.

Jude nodded and smiled back.

Stef ran her fingers through his brown hair a few more times before planting one final kiss on his cheek and turning towards the passenger's side of the car.

Once she reached the car, Stef swallowed and peered inside. "Mariana!" She called out as she saw her daughter motionless, her seatbelt still on.

"Ma'am I'm gonna need you to step back." One of the paramedics said as he held out his arm to stop her from coming any closer. The man slowly pushed Stef back until she was far enough away for them to bring in some tools in order to open the crumpled door.

In an attempt to keep herself calm, Stef looked away from her daughter and saw Brandon struggling to hold Jesus back from the opposite side of the car. She sighed in defeat as she walked around to them and put her hands on his face. "Jesus. Jesus look at me." She said in a calm manner. The boy didn't respond, and he was still breathing heavily, but he did quit struggling against his older brother. "Baby. She's gonna be ok. We've gotta let the paramedics take care of her. That's their job. They can help her the most right now." She explained as she rubbed away some tears that had fallen from her middle son's eyes.

Stef glansed down at Callie who was still huddled in a ball on the ground. She had begun to rock herself foreword and backward and Stef could see her struggling to breathe at a normal pace. She let out another sob as she reached for her phone and handed it to Brandon, who had by then let go of Jesus. "Call mama, please." She said desperately. She knew she couldn't handle all of her kids on her own.

Brandon smiled sadly. "Already did. She's leaving her meeting right now and said she would be here in less than 5 minutes. The school is close by." He informed her and Stef reached out to hug her oldest son. "Thank you, baby."

Once the loud sound of the tools opening up the car door halted, all three looked over at the car and saw a group of paramedics reaching in to gather Mariana out of the seat and onto another gurney from a second ambulance who had made its way to the scene shortly after the first one. Before she could take a step towards Mariana, she heard a voice behind her that instantly relieved the smallest part of her worries.

"Stef?" Lena called out as she pushed her way through the police officers and reached her two oldest sons and her wife. "What happened?" She asked as she looked around, taking in the scene in front of her.

"I'm not sure of the details, but I need you to go with Mariana." She said as she pointed to the second ambulance. "They just got her out of the car and I don't know how she is." She explained.

Lena nodded and gave her wife a quick kiss before making her way over to the ambulance. She knew she would hear the rest of the story later, but for now, she needed to be with her daughter.

Stef watched for a moment as Lena climbed into the ambulance and turned his attention back to her boys. She shifted her focus from Callie to Jude and then to her oldest sons in front of her. After some consideration, she instructed the boys to go with Jude in the ambulance. She figured she should be the one to find out what happened with Callie, and she knew Jude wasn't in any immediate danger.

Both boys looked at one another and nodded as they made their way towards their youngest brother. Stef smiled as she saw them cracking jokes, making the boy giggle.

With another deep breath, she walked over to Callie and crouched down next to her, as she had done earlier. "How you doing, my love?" She asked as she tried to read the girl's body language.

Callie didn't respond, so Stef tried to lift her head up so she could at least see the girl's eyes. "Baby, please look at me." Stef said with deep concern in her voice. Callie shook her head and let out a sob. Sighing, Stef looked at the ground next to the girl and carefully sat down. She pulled the shaking girl into her arms and held her for a few moments. She kissed the side of the girl's head a few times before starting to talk once more. By then, both ambulances had left and the police were beginning to organize the clean up of the derby.

"How about we get you up and into the car so we can meet everyone at the hospital?" Stef asked, though it was more of an order than a question. When Callie again didn't answer her, she stood up and reached down to help the girl one her feet. The teen kept her gaze down and allowed Stef to guide her over to one of the police cars, which was only a few feet away.

"Hey Anderson. Can you drop us off at the hospital please?" Stef asked her co-worker before opening up the back door and almost pushing Callie into the car. She talked with the police officer for a moment more before sliding in next to the teen in the back seat and shutting the door behind her. Stef reached over to buckle herself in and sighed sadly as she saw Callie had moved over as far away from Stef as possible and buckled herself in as well, resting her head on the cool window.

The officer Stef had talked to got into the driver's seat and started the car. He looked back at Stef and nodded. When she returned the nod, he began to drive to the hospital.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for them to reach their destination and they were dropped off at the emergency room entrance. Once again, Callie didn't move on her own, so Stef had to get out herself, walk around the car to the other side, and physically take the girl out of the car. "Come on, my love." She said as she led the teen towards the doors. Suddenly, Stef felt Callie stop walking and her body began to fall towards the floor. "Callie!" She called out as she held onto the girl who had passed out suddenly. "Anderson! I need a stretcher!" She frantically yelled as she slowly settled herself and her daughter to the ground.<p>

**Part 2 coming soon! **


	9. Car Accident: Part 2

**Thank you so much for the positive remarks! Here is part 2!**

Callie's head throbbed. She tried to will the pain from her entire body away, but the spinning in her head made it difficult to concentrate. Her eyelids felt like bricks cemented shut. She tried to pry them open, but they hardly moved at all. "Mmmm" She groaned, trying to create an audible word. Her heartbeat began to quicken as she struggled to make sense of what was going on. _Help me! Someone help!_ She screamed to herself.

"Callie!" Stef called out when she heard the slight mumble of the girl who was now on a stretcher and being taken into the ER. Stef jogged next to her as the doctors rolled her into an examination room. "Callie, sweetie I'm right here. You're alright." Stef called out, unaware if the girl would even hear her.

"Ma'am. What happened?" One of the doctors asked as he began to check the teen's vitals.

"Sh.. she was in a car accident." Stef stammered, never looking away from Callie.

"Was she checked by the paramedics?" He asked, continuing his work.

Stef thought back and shook her head. "Uhh I dono. She I mean I got there after it happened and found her sitting next to the car. Two of my other kids were in the car as well so I went to check on them." Stef rambled as she tried to remember all the details.

"Has she had any past severe medical history?" He asked before instructing the nurses to gather what he needed to continue.

"Mmmm" Callie's voice stopped Stef and the mother grabbed the girl's hand and held it gently in her own.

"Callie, love. You're ok." She told the girl as she rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand.

When Callie's eyes began to flutter slightly, both the doctor and Stef knew she was waking up.

"Hi, Callie! My name is Doctor Kippler" The doctor said with a smile as he took out his flashlight and began to shine it around her face, using his finger to open her eyes one at a time.

Callie groaned at the light and tried to close her eyes again. The light was making her head throb.

"Hey, sweetie I just need you to open your eyes for me really quick, ok?" He asked as she struggled to move away from the invading doctor's reach.

When Callie shrugged away again, Stef spoke up. "Callie, my love. You need to open your eyes for just a moment so the doctor can check them."

Slowly, the teen allowed her eyes to open and Dr. Kippler quickly flashed his light from one eye to the other.

"Thank you, sweetie. You can close your eyes." Dr. Kippler said gently before looking to one of the nurses. "Order a CAT scan." He said before turning to a worried Stef. "Just to make sure. She does have a concussion, but the adrenaline from the crash could have hidden her injuries up until now." He explained and Stef nodded in understanding. "We just want to check everything out so we're sure."

Stef nodded again and the door opened revealing another nurse.

"We can take her." She informed the doctor before he nodded and turned to Callie who was trying to breathe through the pain she felt throughout her body.

"Alright, sweetie. My friend Amanda is going to take you to get some quick tests done." He told the teen before moving over towards Stef and guiding both of them out of the way of the moving stretcher.

"Nothing to be too concerned about right now." Dr. Kippler said, trying to relieve the worry in the mother's eyes.

Stef nodded her head before informing the doctor of some information. "She is my foster daughter, so I don't know much of her medical history."

Doctor Kippler smiled sadly and nodded his head in response.

"My wife is here and she might have a few more details that could help." Stef thought out loud as she reached into her pocket for her phone.

As the adults talked, Callie was being prepared to get wheeled out to get her CAT scan.

"Ok, sweetie." Amanda said with a smile, even though the girl's eyes were closed.

At the first jolt of movement, Callie's eyes sprung open and she looked around frantically.

"You're ok." Amanda assured the girl as she stopped for a moment to place a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. At the touch, Callie pushed herself away from the nurse, causing a severe spinning to take over her head. She grabbed her head and winced in pain.

"Callie!" Stef called out. She watched helplessly as the girl held her head and tried desperately to force back tears. Stef crouched down next to the teen and tilted her head to try and capture the eyes of the teen. "Sweetie." Stef gently called out.

"I have to take her down." Amanda said softly, with an apologetic tone.

Stef nodded and leaned in before whispering, "I love you," then stood up.

"I'm gonna start moving again, Callie." Amanda said quietly. "I promise to go slow." As she began to wheel the girl out, she only stopped momentarily when she heard the girl inhale sharply and let a sob out, but figured the faster she could get to the scan, the better, and continued out of the room.

"Could you tell me where my son is?" Stef asked, suddenly anxious that Brandon and Jesus were with him alone.

Dr. Kippler nodded as he checked Callie's chart one more time.

"Could you also take me to my daughter's room? My wife is there with her, and maybe then she can talk with you about Callie's medical history." Stef asked, rubbing her eyes with her hands.

"Let me grab their charts. What are their names?"

"Jude and Mariana Adams Foster" Stef responded as she followed the doctor out towards a nurse's station.

* * *

><p>"You're ok, my love." Lena cooed as she rocked Mariana in her arms.<p>

When Lena had gotten into the ambulance at the intersection, Mariana was just gaining consciousness. She began sobbing from fear and pain and tried to claw Lena up onto the stretcher with her. The paramedics insisted that the teen be on the stretcher alone, so Mariana settled for holding Lena's hand the entire ride. They checked her vitals, but the only injury they detected were several cuts and bruises on her face and arms.

Once they got her into a room and closed the door for privacy, she pulled Lena onto the stretcher with her and buried herself into the older woman's chest. She had Lena's shirt in a death grip and wouldn't let any of the doctors come near her. Lena had tried unsuccessfully to let the doctor check her for other injuries, and after a half hour of pleading, the doctor said he would come back in a few minutes, hopefully giving the girl some time to settle down a little.

Lena and Mariana had been in the room alone for almost 10 minutes. Hating to see her daughter in such a frightened state, she simply ran her fingers through the girl's hair and gently rocked her, mindful of her injuries. The mother sighed in relief when she felt the girl's breathing even out and she felt her grip loosen on her shirt. Even so, Lena continued to whisper soothing words to her daughter.

A slight knock at the door grabbed Lena's attention and she smiled when she saw her wife follow a doctor into the room.

"I'll give you a few minutes." Dr. Kippler said with a small smile before exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

"Hi, my loves." Stef said softly, as she walked over to her wife and daughter. Her heart broke as she noted how close Mariana was to Lena and how exhausted Lena looked. She reached over to her daughter, ran her hand through the girl's dark hair and kissed her several times on the temple. Then she focused on her wife.

"What did they say?" She asked as she winced at the sight of the bruises and cuts on the girl's arms.

Lena shook her head while exhaling. "I don't know yet. They checked vitals and what they could in the ambulance, but once we got in the room, she wouldn't let anyone come near her." Lena looked down at the girl for a moment before continuing. "The doctor left after a half hour of trying, and she fell asleep about 10 minutes ago." Lena quickly explained.

Stef's eyes lingered over her daughter's battered skin before sniffing slightly, she knew she needed to discuss Callie with her, though she wish it wasn't while she was with their daughter.

"What happened?" Lena asked. All Brandon had told her on the phone was that Callie, Mariana and Jude had gotten in a car crash. Once she arrived on the scene, she went right to Mariana and the ambulance left. She hated being in the dark about her kids.

Stef sighed deeply and sat down in a chair that was positioned next to her wife and daughter. "I'm not sure about the details of the crash, but Jude broke his arm." She explained. When Lena's face showed signs of deep fear, Stef put a hand on her wife's arm and stroked it gently. "He's ok, my love. I just went to see him and Brandon and Jesus are with him. He got a blue cast and the boys are writing all over it as we speak." Stef said with a smile as she thought back to how thankful she was that Brandon and Jesus had been there to be with Jude. "When I left, Brandon was going to get the three of them some food. They are going to watch TV until we can take them home." Stef explained.

"Ok." Lena said, sighing in relief that the boy seemed to be doing alright.

"What about Callie?" Lena asked.

"Well. Kinda like this one" Stef started before looking at Mariana, "I'm not entirely sure." Lena crinkled her forehead in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked, halting to settle the girl in her arms who had moved slightly and hit her bruised arm slightly.

Stef waited until Mariana was situated once more before answering her wife's question. "I took her with me in Anderson's car to the hospital. She didn't seem to be hurt, just afraid." Stef recalled the look un the girl's eyes when they got into the police car. "But when we got to the hospital, she passed out, out of no where!" Stef exclaimed.

"What?"

"They just took her down for a CAT scan."

"A CAT scan?!" Lena gasped as her free hand flew to her heart.

"Dr. Kippler said it's just for precaution." Stef said as she pushed back her emotions. "He said she has a concussion, but he wanted to be sure."

Lena nodded her head as a tear fell.

"Baby." Stef stated as she got up from the chair and put a hand on her wife's face. "It's gonna be ok." Stef soothed the woman.

"Stef! How can it be ok?" Lena asked, her voice louder than she intended, causing Mariana to stir again.

Lena took a breath before looking down at the girl waking up in her arms. "Hi, baby." She said softly.

Mariana groaned as she lifted her hand to rub the sleep from her eyes. When she made contact with her bruise, she yelped slightly.

"Careful, sweetie." Stef said gently.

It took the girl a few seconds to remember where she was before her face fell. "Mama?!"

"Shhhh, baby. I'm right here." Lena said as she wrapped her arms back around the girl.

"I'm gonna go get the doctor." Stef said with a small smile before getting up and kissing her daughter in the head.

Mariana turned to look up at her mother. "Mama. Are Callie and Jude ok?" She asked.

Lena smiled. "They're gonna be alright, baby." She responded. "But how about now we focus on you?" She asked in more of a statement form. "Can you tell me what hurts?" She asked, knowing it would be a question the doctor would be asking.

Before the girl could answer, a doctor entered the room, followed by Doctor Kippler, and Stef.

"My love, Mama needs to go with Doctor Kippler for just a little bit." She started and when she saw the panic strike her face, she quickly continued. "I'm gonna be here with you." She said, trying to sooth the fears.

When Mariana looked up at Lena with tears in her eyes, Stef tried a humor approach. "What? I'm not good enough for my little diva?" She asked, faking a tone with a slight smile. "I mean I know I didn't have a chance to shower today, but I think I smell alright." She said as she lifted her arm and held it to Lena for her to check.

"Oh Stef!" Lena said with a slightly disgusted look, but smiled when she saw Mariana roll her eyes and chuckle slightly.

"Ok, ok, mom. Just don't do that again." The teen said with a smile.

Stef stuck her tongue out at the girl before looking at her wife, who gave a look of wanting to know why she needed to go with the other doctor.

"He needs some information on Callie's medical history and I was hoping your memory was better than mine." Stef said.

Lena laughed slightly. "Honey, everyone's memory is better than yours." She stated as she looked down at her daughter. "Alright, my baby girl. I'll be back in a little bit."

Planting a kiss on her forehead, she slipped off of the bed, gave Stef a quick kiss before following the doctor out of the room.

Stef watched the door close before turning to the other doctor in the room. "Hi. I'm Stef." She stuck out her hand and the doctor shook it. "I'm Doctor Hansen."

He turned to look at the teen who was looking away from both adults. "Hi, Mariana. You look like you're doing a little better." Dr. Hansen said as he grabbed her chart and made his way to the side she was facing. When she didn't respond, he continued. "Can you tell me what happened?"

When the girl shrugged, Stef stepped in. She sat on the edge of the stretcher and placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Mari, love. Please talk to the doctor." She said in a soothing but stern voice.

"Some stupid guy hit us." Mariana said with no emotion.

Before she could continue, the door burst open and Jesus ran in, followed quickly by Brandon, Lena and Jude entered the room shortly after.

"Jesus!?" Stef called out in question as the boy ran over to his twin and dropped to his knees beside her. "Are you ok?" He asked, a tear falling down his cheek.

"Jesus!" Lena called to her son as she and Jude walked into the room. "I'm sorry." Lena apologized when she saw Dr. Hansen. "He insisted on seeing her." She explained as she ushered Jude further into the room.

"How's the arm, baby?" Stef asked as she opened her arms and gave Jude a gentle hug.

The boy shrugged his shoulders and yawned. "It's fine." He said. "Where's Callie?" He suddenly asked, noticing she wasn't in the room with the rest of his family.

"Uhh baby. He's getting some tests done. I was actually on my way to talk with Dr. Kippler about it when we ran into Jesus." She answered, directing the last part to her wife.

"Is she gonna be ok?" Jude asked.

"I think so, buddy." Stef replied as she pushed back the hair from his forehead. "But I'm thinking you three need to get some sleep in your own beds." Stef said as she looked at Lena to ensure she thought the same thing.

"I'm gonna get Jude discharged and the three of you are going to head home and have some dinner and get some rest." Lena agreed.

"I'll call Mike to see if he can pick you guys up." Stef said, but Brandon quickly put up his hand. "I'll call him." He offered before pulling out his phone and leaving the hospital room.

"Come on, Jude. Let's get you discharged." Lena said as she used her head to point down to her middle son who was in the same place he had been when he first entered the room before leaving with her youngest.

Stef exhaled and looked over Mariana's body to see her son. "Jesus." She called out. He lifted his head and she could see tears pooled in his eyes. "Oh baby." She said, her heart breaking. She knew Jesus didn't like to cry, but he must have been scared to death when he saw his twin lying unconscious in the car. "Baby I need you to go home with Brandon and Jude." She said, trying to hurry him along so the doctor, who was waiting patiently, could finish checking Mariana. "But mom...!" He started before Stef interrupted.

"I know you want to be here with her, but honestly, there isn't much you can be doing by staying here. And since Mama and I both need to be here, I really need you to help Brandon with Jude." Stef said, giving him a small smile.

Jesus looked from his mom to his twin, who smiled at him as well. "I'm ok, Jesus. Promise." She said, holding out a shaky pinky to her brother. Jesus bit his lip before linking his own pinky with hers. "Ok. I'll be waiting for you at home." He said, finally getting up.

"I'll call you guys later to let you know what is happening here." She informed her son as he walked towards the door. "I love you."

"Love you, mom. Love you, Mari." He said as he shut the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Lena quickly got her youngest discharged and ready to go home. Brandon had gotten ahold of his father and he came and picked the boys up after a half hours on strict orders from Lena to call if Jude so much as coughed in a manner that sounded like something was wrong or hurting.<p>

Chuckling at the concerned mother, Mike nodded and led the boys out of the hospital. Before they all left, Lena grabbed ahold of Brandon's arm and halted him from following his brothers.

"I just wanted to thank you..." Lena began before Brandon cut him off. "It's fine."

Lena sighed, but continued. "I know. But I truly appreciate you stepping up." She said before giving him a quick hug.

"Love you." She whispered to him.

"I love you too." He responded before pulling away and catching up to his brothers and father.

Pulling herself together, Lena took a few breaths before making her way back to the room Mariana and Stef were in. She opened the door quietly and saw that Mariana was curled up into a ball on the be that Stef begged her to move to. After 10 minutes of pleading, Stef took it upon herself to scoop up her daughter and carry her to the bed, which was not taken well by the girl. Once she had gotten to the actual hospital bed, she turned away from Stef and hadn't spoken since. Stef knew her daughter would be upset, but she felt it was the best option at the time. So, she respected the teen's want for distance, and took a seat in the chair by the foot of the bed.

"What happened?" Lena whispered as she inched her way into the room.

Stef looked up and went to greet her wife. "I carried her to the bed. She wasn't too thrilled." She said simply.

"Did they check her?" She asked the blonde.

"Yes. Other than bruises and cuts, nothing major." Stef said and Lena exhaled. "However, she did have a huge bruise on her upper thigh." Stef said in a whisper, hoping Mariana couldn't hear.

"From the crash?" Lena asked. Trying to figure out how she could get a bruise on her leg from the accident. "Did something fall on her leg?" She asked.

Stef shook her head. "I wasn't from today." She simply said before turning towards the girl.

"What is it..." Lena began before Stef shook her head. "We'll talk more at home. Doctor said she can be released after he checks everything once more."

Lena nodded before sharing her information. "Mike just got the boys. They should be home in a few minutes" She said, checking her watch.

"And Callie?" Stef asked, hoping she would be released today as well so they could all be home for the night, as it was already past 11 and she knew everyone was exhausted.

"I talked to Dr. Kippler and told him what I could remember. I need to look through her file again." She said, getting a little off topic. "And Jude's."

Stef simply nodded, waiting for Lena to continue.

"But he said the CAT scan came back fine. She does have a concussion, so we have to watch for that, but she can be released soon." She finished before walking over to Mariana. "Will you wait with Callie?" Lena asked and Stef nodded. She knew she wanted some alone time with her youngest daughter.

Stef kissed Lena before turning to leave. "Oh. Doctor Hansen should be back any..." She was interrupted by the door opening and the doctor walked in. "Right now!" She said with a small chuckle.

Lena nodded and walked over to her daughter.

"I told her about the bruise and we're gonna talk with Mariana about it when we get home. But you promise it's nothing life-threatening, correct?" Stef asked as the two adults stood by the open door.

The doctor shook his head. "It is healing- she probably got it a few months ago." He stated.

"Thanks." Stef responded with a smile before slipping out the door and heading to Callie's room. She stopped to grab a drink from the water fountain and have a moment for herself. She was lucky in the sense that this outcome could have been so much worse, but she knew they were far from alright.

* * *

><p>Stef entered the room Callie was occupying just as the nurses were removing the IV from her hand and getting her ready to leave.<p>

"Hi, my love." Stef said shooting the girl a small smile and grabbing the girl's jacket, which was removed once they got into the hospital.

Callie didn't respond. She merely nodded and looked down at the floor.

"You ready to go home?" Stef asked, choosing to ignore the lack of response for the time being.

Callie nodded and hopped off of the stretcher, stopping when she felt the room begin to spin.

"Woah!" Stef said as she ran over to the girl and helped steady her.

After a few moments, Callie shrugged herself away from Stef and walked towards the door.

"Hold on." Stef called out to her as she looked at the nurse who was still in the room, getting ready to change the sheets. "So can we just go?" She asked, keeping an eye on Callie.

"Your wife has all of the information from Dr. Kippler. Sorry he had to run to an emergency, so he isn't here to talk with you as well." The nurse apologized.

"That's alright." Stef said with a smile. "Thank you."

"No problem"

"Come on, Cal." Stef said as she walked over to the teen and tried to put her arm around the girl, who promptly stepped forward, and out of Stef's reach. "Wait a minute." Stef said, causing Callie to stop, but not look back. "What's wrong?" Stef asked.

Callie didn't respond, but tears began to form as she tried to hide her feelings.

"Callie. Look at me." Stef said with a stern tone.

Finally, the girl turned to the blonde and Stef could see the tears threatening to spill over at any second.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" She asked, tilting her head.

"I'm so sorry." Callie confessed as the tears fell and her head fell into her hands.

"Oh Callie." Stef said as she wrapped her arms around the girl. "Oh sweetie. This wasn't your fault, my sweet, sweet girl." Stef said as she felt sobs rack the girl's body. "Come on. Let's get you and your sister home." Stef said, not wanting to be in the hospital any longer than they needed.

As the two walked towards the front desk, Stef rubbed her hand up and down the girl's arm. "It's ok. You're ok. I love you."


	10. Scary Movie

**Thank you everyone for the reviews! I am working on a part 3 to the car accident story, but I am not exactly sure where I would like it to go as of now. **

**Thanks, Baylin, for this idea, and all of the other ones!**

**A movie triggers something for Callie**

"You about ready, Jude?" Lena called up to her youngest son, who was getting ready to go to a sleepover.

"Yeah. Hold on!" The boy answered as he finally came barreling down the stairs.

"Woah! Take it easy there, babe! Promise I won't leave without ya." The mother said with a wink.

"Sorry." Jude said as his head slightly drooped down.

"Hey." Lena said, cupping his chin in her hand, "It's ok for you to be excited. Just slow down on the stairs." She said with a smile. "Come on."

Lena reached over and grabbed the boy's backpack while Jude used both of his hands to carry the sleeping bag.

"Bye, my love! Have fun!" Stef said as she stepped into the room to give her youngest a kiss on the head before returning to the dishes that she was taking care of.

"I will!" Jude said with a smile and he headed out the door, followed by Lena, who closed it behind her.

Outside, Jesus was just riding up the driveway on his skateboard, coming home from a friend's house.

"Hey bud! Goin' to Justin's?" The older boy asked his brother.

Jude nodded eagerly.

"Have fun!" Jesus said as he ruffled the boy's hair and walked up the steps to the house, skateboard in hand.

* * *

><p>"Mom!" Jesus called out as he opened the door, tossed his jacket, shoes, and board to the side and walked into the house.<p>

"I'd better not see that skateboard lying somewhere in this house" Stef called from the kitchen, causing Jesus to pick up the board and put it in the garage.

The teen walked back into the kitchen and his mother met him with a smirk.

"How do you always know?" He asked as he filled up his cup with water.

"You're my kid. I know you." Stef replied. "And I know you stink." She said, crinkling her nose in disgust.

"Wow. Thanks, mom!" Jesus said in a mock hurt voice.

"Go shower." Stef said, raising her eyebrows.

Sighing, Jesus turned to head to the second floor when he stopped and turned around. "Hey mom"

"What do you want?" Stef asked, her eyebrows raising again and her head tilting when the teen questioned how she knew he wanted something.

"Well, since Jude is gone tonight, maybe can we watch a scary movie? Like Reincarnation or Death of Many or Bloody Remains." Jesus began listing off movies that he knew would be inappropriate for Jude to watch.

Mariana walked into the room, her arms crossed and her face disgusted. "Eww. No way, Jesus. No way are we watching those movies." She said matter-of-factly as she moved to sit at the kitchen table.

"Says you!" Jesus argued back.

"Says Mama. You know she'd never let you watch those movies." Mariana responded, tossing her hair with attitude.

"Just because Jude is usually here. Death of Mary is only rated R because of one little scene!" He exclaimed, focusing his plea to his mother, who had sat down next to her daughter.

Stef focused on her son. "And how do you know that?" She asked.

"Luke told me!" He expressed, trying to continue. "His parents let him and his brothers watch it!"

Stef looked at him suspiciously. "I dono. You're gonna have to talk to Mama about this one." Stef said, not wanting to make any decisions if Lena wouldn't be comfortable with it.

"Why can't we watch Love Actually or Secret Lovers?" Mariana asked, looking at her mom.

"Uhhh no, Mariana! Something that we can't watch while Jude is here." Jesus said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey now!" Stef chastised.

"I'm not saying I don't want him here. I'm just saying he is over at his friend's house and we should be able to watch a higher-rated movie while he isn't here." Jesus explained.

"Mama will be home in less than 10." Stef said as she got up and kissed her daughter on the top of the head as she focused on her phone. "You can ask her when she gets here."

Jesus sighed before getting up and out of his chair and walking up the stairs.

"Brandon?" The teen called out, knocking on his brother's door.

After a moment of shuffling, Brandon opened the door. "What?" He asked, cracking his knuckles.

"Jude is gone at his friend's house for a sleepover and I thought we could watch a scary movie that moms won't let us have in the house when Jude is here. You in?" He asked with hopeful eyes.

"Dude. Do you remember the last time you tried to sneak around moms? You were grounded for a month." He pointed out, crossing his arms at his younger brother.

"I don't mean to watch it behind their backs. I already asked mom and she said to ask mama when she gets home. I just figured if you backed me up that it wasn't too scary, that she would let us watch it." Jesus explained.

Brandon looked as if he was thinking it over, then nodded his head. "Mkay. What were you thinking?" He asked as Callie passed by his room towards the bathroom.

"Oh maybe Callie will too!" Jesus said as he turned to fully face the girl.

Callie gave them a look before responding. "Maybe Callie will do what too?" Though she didn't know if she actually wanted to know. With Jesus, you never knew what was going on in his head.

"Jude is gone tonight and if the three of us convince moms, maybe we can watch a scary movie." Jesus explained once more.

"Uhh yeah. I mean I'm in." Callie said.

Jesus pumped his fist in the air, causing Callie and Brandon to look at one another and roll their eyes.

"Good luck trying to convince Lena. Even with us." Callie said as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Yeah dude." Brandon agreed before turning back to his room.

* * *

><p>When Jesus heard the front door open, he ran down the stairs clutching a pile of papers. As he made it into the kitchen, he waited for Lena and Stef to release each other from a hug before clearing his throat.<p>

"Oh this otta be good." Stef said as she sat down and folded her hands together and placed them on the table.

"What's going on, Jesus?" Lena asked with a concerned look.

"Ok. I know you're gonna say no right away, but..." Jesus began before he heard Stef stifle a chuckle.

"I'm sorry, baby. Keep going." Stef said, biting her lip to keep from smiling.

"Since Jude is gone tonight, we were thinking we could watch a scary movie." Jesus said, handing his mother the papers. "This is the description of the ones we were hoping to watch." He added.

"We?" Stef asked as she too peaked at the papers.

"Well I dono about Mariana, but Brandon and Callie are in." He said.

Lena took a moment to skim the papers before talking. "I don't know, Jesus. These are all rated R. And you're only 15."

"But look." Jesus said as he came over to the mother and pointed down at the paper. "It's only because of a couple of scenes. And it's just because of the action." He explained.

Lena looked through the descriptions once more before exhaling deeply and looking at her son.

"Fine." Lena said, stunning both her son and her wife.

"Really? Thank..." Jesus began before Lena continued.

"You will watch this movie" She said, pointing to one of the papers, " in the living room while mom and I get some stuff done upstairs. If I hear anything I don't like, it goes off. And if any of your siblings want it off, it goes off. Understand?" She asked and Jesus nodded excitedly.

"Thank you!" He responded before running up the stairs to ask Brandon to drive him to the store to rent the movie.

"Wow." Stef said, wrapping her arms around her wife.

"What?" She asked, twisting to face the blonde.

"I'm just surprised, that's all." Stef said with a smile.

Lena smiled back and kissed her wife. "Hopefully this will give us some of our own rated R time." She said with a wink, leaving Stef with her mouth hanging wide open. It was rare when Lena talked like this, but she wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to get some alone time with her wife.

* * *

><p>Less than a half hour later, Brandon and Jesus had made it back from the store and the 4 oldest children sat down in the living room to watch the movie. Mariana had reluctantly joined, claiming that the movie was going to be stupid, but Callie pointed out that this would probably never happen again and that she should take what she can get.<p>

So, after bags of popcorn had been made, and Jesus and Mariana had argued for 5 minutes about whether or not the light should be left on or turned off, they settled in, the hall light on and the family room lights off.

Jesus and Brandon sat in the two single chairs, each with their own bowls of popcorn and a blanket. The girls occupied the couch, sharing a bowl of popcorn and a blanket.

"Oh my gosh! No! Don't go in there!" Mariana commented for the third time within the first 20 minutes of the movie. Jesus glared at his twin.

"Sorry!" She said, holding her hands up in surrender and snuggling into Callie's shoulder. She had gotten so comfortable with Callie as her sister and was glad she finally had another girl in the house to endure her brothers with her.

Callie looked over at Mariana and smiled. She really did feel like part of the Adams Foster family. Here she was sitting on the couch, watching a scary movie with her siblings, eating popcorn, and she could actually pay attention to the movie because she wasn't distracted with protecting her brother. The brunette sighed and relaxed into the couch, letting herself engage in the film.

* * *

><p>About halfway through the movie, most of the popcorn was gone, Mariana had stopped commenting, and she kept her head covered by the blanket, only peaking out every few seconds before diving back under.<p>

The movie progressed to the main character as she walked into an old abandoned house. The girl crept into the house, trying to keep quiet and made it only a foot before someone reached out and grabbed her.

All four kids jumped at the sudden grab but remained silent, wanting to know what happened next.

The girl in the movie was being dragged into a closet by a man. He shoved her into the small, cramped room and slammed the door shut, locking it behind him.

As the man walked away from the screaming girl, Brandon, Mariana, and Jesus' heart rates began to decrease, while Callie's increased. As the sounds of the girl pounding on the door and her screams lingered, Callie felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. _Relax, Cal. Calm down!_ She tried to talk herself out of where her mind was taking her, but she could feel her chest tightening and her breathing increase.

Callie threw off the blanket from her body, suddenly feeling extremely hot and claustrophobic.

At the sudden movement, Mariana glanced over at the older girl for a moment before doing a double take when she saw the girl's hand on her chest. "Callie?" She asked, completely ignoring the movie.

"I'm fine." Callie said, looking to the younger girl and forcing a smile. "Promise. Just got a little hot." She explained. "Keep watching. I'm gonna get some water." She continued as she stood up to quickly leave the room.

However, Callie wasn't anticipating her head spinning from her shortness of breath and she stumbled to her knees. "Callie!" Mariana yelled, significantly louder and this time gaining the attention of her brothers.

"What's wrong?" Brandon asked as Jesus paused the movie and they both made their way over to the girl.

By this point, Callie had tuned out the other noises and tried to focus on her own thoughts. Thoughts of one of her earlier foster fathers and when he used to throw her into a closet and keep her locked in there for days. He eventually was investigated and arrested after Callie lost so much weight from the lack of food he provided the girl. She tried to suck in as much air as possible, but it felt like her throat was tightening up.

Upon hearing her gasping for air, Brandon looked at Mariana. "Go get moms."

Halting only to glance once more at Callie, Mariana ran up the stairs and knocked quickly on her moms' door. "Mom!" Mariana called out in a panicked tone, causing the women to quicken their pace and open the door.

"What's wrong?" Lena asked, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder and staring at her.

"Callie. She... I dono really." Mariana started before Stef took off down the stairs and ran into the family room where she could see Brandon and Jesus huddled over who she thought had to be Callie.

"Callie?" Stef called out, causing both boys to stand up and look over as the blonde cop walked over to the girl who was still on the floor, clutching her chest and breathing heavily.

"Boys, go by mama." She instructed quickly before kneeling down next to the girl and trying to determine how to approach her without making the situation worse.

"Callie. Sweetie." Stef gently said, placing a hand on the girl's shaking back. At the physical touch, the girl lifted her head and tried to straighten up and smile. "Oh hi. Sorry. I'm fine." She said though the hitches in her breathing and her distant look told another story.

"Come sit down." Stef ordered, helping the teen over to the couch. Stef squatted in front of the brunette and Lena was soon next to her, holding out a glass of water.

"I had the others go upstairs for a bit." She informed both her wife and daughter and tried to smile at the girl whose hands were shaking as she tried to hold the cup.

"Ok Callie. I need you to relax. Look at me and breathe." Stef instructed, trying to capture the girl's gaze.

Feeling helpless, Lena sat down on the couch next to Callie and wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders. "In and out. In and out." Lena said in a steady rhythm.

Callie's head was spinning at an even faster pace and at some point, she felt the cup of water being removed from her grip.

"Callie. Callie, sweetie." She could hear someone calling out her name, but she couldn't focus on who was talking. All she could think about was the closet, that old, dirty, tiny closet. And that smell. At the thought of the smell, Callie's stomach lurched and as much as she tried to hold it together, she vomited on the rug.

"Oh baby." Lena muttered, rubbing the girl's back in a soothing manner. "Shhh sweetie. It's ok. You're ok." She whispered to the girl.

"Don't worry about that." Stef said as she saw the look of horror in the girl;s eyes as she spotted the mess. "Just concentrate on me and breathe." Stef instructed once more. "Come on, baby doll. Slow down your breathing. You're fine. You're safe."

Once Callie's breathing became more manageable, Stef held up the cup of water that she had grabbed from the girl's hands when it seemed like she was shaking too much for her to hold it without spilling. "Drink some, my love."

Callie thankfully took the cup and drank slowly, allowing herself more time to relax.

Stef took the water out of the girl;s hands once she indicated she was done, and placed it on the coffee table next to her. As if she could feel both sets of eyes on her, Callie dropped her head and stared at her feet, hoping they would leave her alone.

"Callie?"

The teen sighed in frustration at the concerned mother's tone. She knew they would be worried, and that she owed them an explanation of some sort, so she lifted up her head and was met with the concerned faces of her mothers.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled and her gaze fell back towards the floor, but before it reached all the way, Stef captured her chin with her hand and gently lifted it.

"What happened?" She asked, with a tone that didn't leave room for anything but the truth.

"I... It's stupid." She began before Stef shook her head and kept her gaze on the girl. "No. It's not stupid."

Callie shrugged her shoulders. "There was a scene in the movie that reminded me of something and I got scared." She confessed, not lying, but not telling the entire truth.

Lena and Stef looked at one another and sighed. They knew there was more to the reason, but they also knew that it would probably take some time for her to feel comfortable enough to vocalize it.

"Why don't we get you into a shower and you can brush your teeth." Lena suggested as she stood up and held out her hand to the teen.

Slowly, Callie stood up. Stef mirrored her motions, but reached out to grab the swaying girl. "Take your time." She instructed as she waited until the girl seemed to be steady.

Callie looked away from both moms, completely horrified by what had happened, and began to walk towards the stairs.

Sighing in defeat, Lena started to let her hand drop, but Stef swooped in and gathered it in her own, bringing her wife's mocha fingers up to her mouth and kissing them.

Lena smiled at her wife and they followed Callie up the stairs. They had a long way to go with this one.


End file.
